The Last Of Us: Unfinished Business
by Exangellion
Summary: Five years after arriving in Bertrand, an old threat shows it's ugly head, and a new fight for their lives begins for Joel and the gang. Will Joel be able to keep Ellie safe this time? And will he be able to survive as well?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1:

Zak stared out at the horizon, the destroyed and decaying buildings of the Las Vegas strip. There was a warm breeze blowing and it rippled his soft brunette hair. He wanted to cut his hair but just couldn't find the time. Zak rubbed a hand down his face and scratched at the stubble. As he stood there, he thought about his age, guessing he was probably somewhere around twenty years old. He remembered his life at the Chicago QZ, eight years previous. That life seemed as if it had never existed.

Zak looked down at his right arm and shook his head. He couldn't _believe _that he was still running with the remaining fireflies. Back when he'd lived in the Chicago QZ, he and his best friend Angel had constantly ranted about how retarded they were, and how there was no light to find. He still thought the fireflies were idiots. the only reason he'd even allowed himself to go with them when they'd found him on the side of the road was because he'd been starving. That had been close to a year ago, when he'd been looking for his good old buddy Angel.

"Hey! Dejenueva!" Zak looked behind him and sighed. Here came Tony. Probably coming to remind him that he needed to rest before he went out on the "mission" Beckie was sending him on. Tony stood beside Zak and put a hand on his shoulder. "You look good with that automatic. It suits you." Zak looked down at the automatic rifle in his hands.

"You know she's sending you out today right?" Zak nodded. "I also know the only reason I'm going is because I'm expendable." Tony laughed and shook his head. "Naw man, she just knows your the one who's least likely to withhold information." Zak shrugged. "I'm willing to bet the only reason I'm getting sent on this wild goose chase is so you guys can figure out what kind of enemy you're dealing with."

"Well you think what you want, but you'd better hurry on down to the meeting room. Beckie plans to send you out before sunset. And don't be a smartass. This is our only chance of finding the light."

Zak rolled his eyes as he turned and headed towards the empty elevator shaft that he could climb down inside the palace station with. "What light?" He called to Tony before beginning down the ladder.

* * *

><p>Joel walked calmly through the streets of Bertrand, rubbing at his back with his hand. It had been a long, uneventful night on watch. At least he'd been able to do it with Dante. The guy was filled with enough dirty jokes, it would probably take years to hear them all. When Joel reached the front door of his house, he unlocked the door and stepped inside. He stretched real quick and walked into the bathroom. He looked at himself in the mirror.<p>

Over the last five years, Joel had aged pretty well. His hair hadn't gone completely gray like he had expected it to (he only had a few gray streaks in his hair) and his beard had only been peppered with the color. There were no new noticeable lines or wrinkles in his face and he hadn't gotten flabby either. From what he saw, he looked nothing like his old man had looked when he'd reached fifty-five.

Joel flicked on the bathroom light (Over the last several years, Tommy had gotten a crew of men to travel around, find power generators for each house. Almost every house in Bertrand now had electricity. Only thing they were missing was running water.) Joel sighed and flicked off the bathroom lights before stepping out into the hallway before Walking down it to Ellie and Devin's room.

Ellie at on the bed, they had long since gotten a bedframe for their mattresses, with her Walkmen on, earbuds in her ears and a book in her hands. "Hey Ellie, do you want any breakfast?" Her music was obviously turned up loud, she had no idea Joel had just spoke to her. With a huff, Joel looked around the room before picking up one of Devin's Walking Dead comics off of the floor and tossing it.

The he comic book hit Ellie on the stomach, causing her to nearly jump out of her skin. "What the fuck Joel?" She asked, taking the earbuds out. "I asked you if you wanted any breakfast." Joel said. Ellie shook her head and sat up. "Devin wants to show me something, or something. Maybe when I get back."

"Well, where you goin'?" Joel asked casually. Ellie chuckled and climbed out of bed and slipped on some shoes. "Relax Joel. I'm twenty years old anyway. I'll be fine." Joel nodded his head and gave Ellie a one-armed hug (the only kind of hug he could give) before letting her begin down the stairs.

* * *

><p>Devin walked with Ellie almost bouncing with excitement. Ellie watched him. His hair had gotten a bit longer, it seemed like it never came out of it's ponytail (as if she had room to talk), he had a full beard, only a small bit of hair wouldn't grow over the scar tissue by the left corner of his lips. The scar still stood out, a long, white half circle on the left side of his feet. Over his right eye was an eyepatch. Chad had once picked it up as a joke, but Devin decided it would be better to wear that than constantly have gauze wrapped around his head.<p>

After several minutes they came to the house that used to belong to Gareth, but now belonged to Tommy. Devin walked over to the garage, bent down and grabbed the bottom of the door. "Been working on this foe over a year." He said before pulling up the door and pointing towards what lay in the middle.

It was a Harley Davidson-a hog. Ellie looked at Devin, who shrugged his shoulders. "Gave it a test run last night. She rides like a dream." Ellie chuckled and shook her head. "You want to take it for a spin?" Ellie looked at Devin. "You sure?"

"Joel would kill me if I put you on that thing and wasn't sure." Ellie laughed. "Let's go."

* * *

><p>Joel nearly nearly had the shit scared of him when he stepped into the kitchen to see Lizzie and Rebecca standing there. Joel always though Lizzie was a little weird. She wore one dress all of the time, and absolutely refused to wear shoes. Every time Joel saw her she wasn't wearing shoes. Joel probably would've left her walking on the side of the road if Devin hadn't have said he knew her.<p>

"Heey Joel." She said in a singsong voicd, hopping up onto the table and swinging her feet back and forth. Joel looked at them and saw they were wrapped in a thin layer of gauze. "How are ya' Lizzie?" Joel asked. He gave Rebecca a quick peck on the cheek before opening up the fridge and looking around in it.

"I'm fine. Have you seen what Devin's been working on? Can't believe he got the Davidson working." Joel looked back at Lizzie. "Davidson? Harley Davidson? A motorcycle?" Lizzie nodded her head. Joel shook his head. "If they get hurt I swear.." Joel began to mutter to himself.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Oh boy. There are still fireflies around! What is their plan? Is this guy Zak about to go on a search for Ellie? Who knew Devin was a good mechanic? Eh, the kid just keeps coming with more surprises. <strong>

**Anyway, I will see you all on the next chapter.**

**~Exangellion**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

The interior of the Palace Station was hot and stuffy. Moments after he'd climbed down the emergency ladder and entered the inside of the Palace Station Zak had noticed the temperature's increase. Sweat slowly began to bead up on his forehead and he wiped at it with the back of his wrist. He moved quietly through the casino, nodding at a few of the fireflies that he had become acquainted with.

He found Beckie Saunders standing in the poker room, a map spread over one of the poker tables. When Zak entered the room, she looked up at him with her piercing blue eyes and he momentarily froze. She always seemed to succeed in scaring the crap out of him. "Good, I was beginning to wonder when you would show up here." She said in a stern voice.

She he motioned him over. "Now, Roberts will be driving, but the guy's a total idiot." She traced one of the lines that represented a road with her finger. "Now all you have to do is follow this road north, until you reach Sikeston. From there you just go East until you hit Bertrand." She looked at Zak to make sure he understood. Zak nodded his head.

"When you get there, the two of you will get inside, get the girl and get out-_without_ compromising the target. Without her there is no chance of finding the light." Zak fought to keep himself from rolling his eyes. "Understood, Dejenueva?" Zak nodded his head. Beckie breathed in, exhaled. "Get some rest, you and Roberts leave at sunup."

* * *

><p>Devin and Ellie rolled up to the gate of Bertrand and Devin banged on it. "Who is it?" He heard someone call down in a singsong voice. "Alex! Don't be retarded!" Devin called up. "Alright, alright. Just give me a sec!" There was a quiet pause and soon, the gate came rolling open. Devin high-fived Alex-a nineteen year old who loved to hit on every woman to come within ten feet of him. Every woman, except Ellie. Alex knew that if Devin caught him flirting with Ellie in any way, shape or form, he'd get his dick knocked into the dirt.<p>

"What's up bruthaman?" Alex asked. Devin shrugged and put his hand on the throttle. "Listen man, I'm gonna' have to catch up with ya' some other time. Right now I have to get the pretty lady here back home soon or Joel's going to murder me." Alex laughed and nodded his head. "I can respect that man, gettin' killed ain't good for your health." Devin laughed along with him for just a moment before putting on the throttle and riding down the streets, weaving his way back to Tommy's place.

When Devin and Ellie got back to Tommy's garage, Devin hopped off of the hog before opening the door and pushing it inside. Devin shut the garage door and waited for Ellie to get off of the hog before opening the door to Tommy's house and stepping in.

Tommy sat at the kitchen table taking stock of the food they had from the last run. "I guess you got that old Davidson runnin' again, huh?" He asked as they walked in. Devin nodded his head. "It's about as good as it's gonna' get." Tommy nodded

"You guys going to be at the movie tonight?"

"Depends, what's going to be playing?"

"Magnificent Seven-the original one." Devin chuckled. "It was Joel's turn to pick the movie, huh?" Tommy laughed. "You know it." Devin looked at Ellie. "You up for an old-timey western?" Ellie shrugged her shoulders.

"We'll be there." Tommy told them he would see them there and waved to them as they stepped out of the front door and began in the direction of their house. "So, what did you think of the ride? Awesome or what?" Ellie, for some reason, thought back to Henry. "Nothing like it." She said. Devin smiled.

"Well, there might be just one more thing more exhilarating than riding a motorcycle." Ellie looked at him, saw his sly smile and punched his arm. "Aww, gross."

"Yeah, Joel would murder me for even _thinking_ about it." Ellie nodded in agreement and sighed when the house came into view. "I'm beat. Gonna' take a nap before the movie if you'll wake me up."

"I make no promises." Devin rolled his eyes. "Well if you don't wake me up, who's gonna' be your date for the movie tonight?" He asked as they stepped onto the porch and stepped through the front door. "Maybe I'll just take Lizzie." Devin shook his head before he flopped down onto their bed. "There's actually a very high possibility that she will go for that."

"Really? So guys aren't her type?" Devin shrugged his shoulders. "She was always sending me mixed signals back when we lived in the Detroit QZ. If you're interested you can ask her. She'll probably tell you. The girl's the only person I know that'll answer almost any question."

Ellie chuckled a bit and sat next to Devin with her back against the wall. She picked up her book and began to read. After several minutes she put in her earbuds and turned on some Nirvana to block out Devin's snoring.

* * *

><p>Devon spread out a blanket over the grass and sat down on it, patting the ground by himself for Ellie. Ellie sat down beside him and looked to her right at Joel and Rebecca. Rebecca sat leaning against Joel, and the two of them were engrossed in some kind of deep conversation. Ellie remembered when Devin had told her about Joel kissing her. At first Ellie had refused to believe it, but after Devin had drilled it into her head a few times, Ellie had begun to see that he hadn't been fucking with her at all. It was actually kind of adorable.<p>

"Hey, stop staring at Joel like a creep. You're gonna' freak everyone out and ruin the movie." Devin said, nudging her with his elbow. "Fuck you dude." She said to him, looking towards the flat wall they used as a screen. Behind them, she could hear Tommy getting the projector started up. "Right now, are you sure? In front of all these people?" Devin asked. Ellie elbowed him roughly and Devin laughed, rubbing his ribs. "Only joking. Don't get too feisty."

Ellie leaned back and put crossed her arms behind her head, watching as the movie started up. Devin lay back beside her, mirroring the way she was lying and the two of them fell into silence, watching the movie. Every once in awhile Devin would have to explain something to her so she would understand some joke or snide comment that was said. But overall Ellie understood the plot. A Mexican village in the wild west was being threatened by a bunch of criminals and seven gunslingers were hired to protect them. It wasn't a half bad movie and Ellie could see why Joel was into it (she also knew he basically liked any kind of western).

It was just before the movie was over when Ellie drifted off into sleep, cuddled into Devin's side. Devin watched the credits roll, lost in thought. He didn't move until he felt Joel nudge his ribs with his foot. "C'mon, let's get on back to the house." Devin nodded his head and slowly slipped away from Ellie. He lifted Ellie for just a moment and moved her off of the blanket before rolling it up. "Hey Ellie, come on. Let's go home." Ellie only held her arms out to him. Devin sighed and held the blanket out for anyone to grab it. Lizzie took it told them she would meet them at the house. Devin bent down, and let Ellie wrap her arms around his neck before he stood up. One hand rested beneath her and his other one held her back. Her legs wrapped around his waist and he sighed again. Rebecca snickered at the sight.

"It looks like you're carrying a kid or something." Devin shook his head. "She weighs a little more than she looks, and her head reaches my forehead, almost." Rebecca still snickered some more. Devin shook his head and walked beside Joel as they made their way home.

"If it makes you feel any better, I appreciate you bein' so kind to her all the time." Joel said. "You make her real happy." Devin shrugged his shoulders as best he could. "I don't see how you couldn't be nice to her. She's way too likable. And it's my pleasure." Joel shook his head. "You two are real weird." Devin laughed. "We're weird _and_ screwed up. But we're alright."

When they got home, Devin took Ellie to their room and lied her down on their bed, pulling the blanket up over her. Once he had her in bed, Devin stepped back out into the hallway and walked out onto the front porch with Joel. From the front pocket of his jeans he produced a pack of Marlboro's and held one out to Joel. "I haven't smoked in a long time." He said, accepting it all the same. Devin lit it with a match and lit one himself. "Yeah, me neither. Only found _this_ pack a few weeks ago." Joel took a long drag off of his cigarette and blew the smoke out into the cool silent air. Devin looked over Joel for a second before taking another puff and attempting to blow a smoke ring.

"You know Joel...I kind of want to apologize."

"For what?" Devin shrugged his shoulders. "I remember when we first met, I was kind of a pain in the ass wasn't I?" Joel shook his head. "Naw, cocky little son of a bitch. But not a pain in the ass. To be completely honest I might've been a little overprotective." Devin smiled. "No such thing as being too overprotective anymore. You can never be too careful."

"Amen to that." They were quiet for a long time.

"You ain't got nothin' to apologize to me for. Y'know, believe it or not I trust you with my life." Devin looked at Joel and smiled again. "Yeah, the feeling's mutual." Joel took one last puff of his cigarette and ground it under his foot. "I'm spent. I'll see you tomorrow. You should get some sleep." Devin nodded his head and attempted to blow a smoke ring a few more times before putting his cigarette out and walking back inside.

He stopped by the couch to look at Lizzie as she sat with her feet propped up on the coffee table. "Get some sleep Devin." She said without looking up from the Walking Dead comic she was reading. Devin shook his head. "Good talk." Lizzie didn't reply. Devin walked back down the hall and into his and Ellie's bedroom. He had only just slipped off his boots when Ellie rolled over to look at him. "Get over here. I'm cold." She said. Devin huffed and pulled his shirt off before climbing into bed with her. He pulled the blanket over himself and got situated before letting her cuddle up against his side.

"You know, sometimes you remind me of some clingy cat." Ellie didn't respond, only tightened her grip on him. He shook his head and closed his eyes, letting himself slip into the peaceful world of his subconscious.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Well, there is the second episode of Unfinished Business. Today's my Saturday (well, technically Sunday, considering it's four am) and so I figured I'd bust out yet another chapter of this for you guys to enjoy. Can't make any promises on when the next chapter will be up. Probably sometime today (Monday that is). But anyway, how did you guys like this chapter? Was it at least enjoyable? Do any of you like the original Magnificent Seven movies, or the TV series from ninety-nine? Could you see Joel liking the Magnificent Seven? What's going to happen with the firefly Zak when he arrives at Bertrand (if he arrives at Bertrand)? I'll let your imaginations decide and we will see if you are correct or not.<strong>

**Also, if any of you are willing, you should check out The Last of Us The Series: Season 1 by Revanite201. I am one of the writers and we both think y'all should check it out. So go do that...or die. Just kidding, but seriously?**

**~Exangellion**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

Zak climbed into the passenger seat of the truck and set his automatic rifle down beside his legs after making sure the safety was off. "Alright buddy, let's get movin'." Tony said once he had shut the door and revved the engine. "I ain't your buddy, Tony." Tony shrugged his shoulders. "Eh, that's your problem. But let's at least not fail here, I kind of can't wait to see a world without infected again." Zak rolled his eyes and looked out of the window, watching as they drove past different parts of a destroyed metropolis. He wondered what life had been like in Las Vegas before the outbreak. Tony had told him a bit about it, said it was the place to go if you had money worth losing. And if you had an ambition for attempting to win money.

"You know kid, I think you're a little closed-minded when it comes to our cause." Tony said, not taking his eyes off of the shattered road they were driving on. Zak shrugged his shoulders. Tony shook his head. "I mean, this is a good cause. And we were so damn _close._ We had the immune kid in our hands and then the smuggler who'd brought her there lost it and killed a huge amount of our guys. Killed our leader Marlene and got away. For the last five years we've been trackin' him down and now we have him. We are about to save the whole damn world." Zak didn't respond to that. Not a whole lot of ways you could. So instead he stayed silent, and stared out of the window at the passing scenery.

"You know what I miss most from before the outbreak?" Tony asked suddenly. Zak looked over at him. "What?"

"Prostitutes. They were fucking _awesome _man. I mean, women willing to give you a good fuck...for money. All you had to do was pay them and you could have the best night of your life." Zak scoffed. "You're a goddamned idiot." He said. Tony laughed. "Yeah, maybe I am."

"Can we stop talking?" Zak asked. Tony huffed. "You are one boring kid." He muttered, but stayed quiet all the same.

* * *

><p>Joel stepped calmly out onto the porch of the house and leaned against it's railing, staring out at the street. It was springtime and the morning weather felt perfect. He inhaled deeply through his nose, enjoying the scent of the fresh Missouri air. Joel stood there staring out at the street for a long time and sighed. He straightened and stretched, popping his back and stretching his neck. He looked up at the sun and guessed it was somewhere around nine-thirty in the morning. At times like this, before the outbreak, he would drive into town and pick up some coffee and meet Tommy at work. God Joel missed coffee.<p>

Joel walked back inside, through the front door and made his way into the kitchen. He opened up the fridge and sifted through it, finally deciding to have some of the eggs that had been brought in from Bertrand's chicken coop. When Joel shut the fridge and stood he found a disheveled looking Devin and a bright looking Lizzie sitting at the table. Lizzie had her bare feet propped up on the table and her arms folded behind her feet. Devin had his head resting in his hands, his eye half open, the other covered with an eye patch.

"Mornin'. Ellie still asleep?" Devin nodded. "Too tired to wake her up." He replied, putting his head on the table. Joel shook his head and cracked the eggs into a pan and turning on the electric burner. "Did ya' enjoy the movie?" He asked, deciding to make small talk. Devin shrugged his shoulders. "Seen it before. Always thought it was pretty good. Had to explain some of it to Ellie though."

"Not much though, right?"

"Right." Joel turned back to his eggs and tended to them, keeping quiet until he'd finished cooking and was sitting beside Lizzie, shoveling food into his mouth. Devin didn't move until Ellie entered the kitchen, looking just about as tired as he was. "What made you two so tired?" Joel asked. Ellie shrugged her shoulders. "I just think we're not morning people." Joel nodded his head. He had to agree with them, he had always been more of a night person.

"Chad and Angel should be back from their hunting trip soon." Joel said, his mind suddenly turning to the thought of having some deer meat to eat instead of the canned stuff they had. He hoped they'd been able to get one. "Yeah, I figured they'd be back by at least tomorrow. They've been out there for at least three days." Devin said, sounding a little less groggy. "Or they're dead somewhere." Lizzie said. Joel looked over at her with his brows furrowed. Lizzie chuckled. "Devin always said my sense of humor leaves something to be desired." She said. Joel nodded his head. "Yeah, it does." Lizzie shrugged her shoulders and stood. "I'm gonna' go for a walk, see y'all later." Devin waved, his head still resting on the table.

Joel finished his eggs and put the plate in the sink before walking to the couch and picking up his boots. "Gotta' run over to Tommy's and talk to him about a supply run. We got plenty of food right now, but we can't bee too careful. You two gonna' behave for Rebecca while I'm gone?" Devin looked up and smirked at Joel. "What could we do that would classify as misbehaving?" Joel sent him a hard glare and Devin laughed. "I wouldn't even _risk_ trying that in here. You'd probably rip my balls off."

"Not probably." Joel said as he slipped his boots onto his feet and headed for the door. "I'll be back soon." Devin waved and looked over at Ellie. "So...you want to go back to our room and-"

"Don't be disgusting." Ellie said, standing and leaving Devin where he sat, laughing loudly.

* * *

><p>Joel sat across from Tommy, talking with him as he ate. In between bights, Tommy would tell Joel something really dumb, trying to get him to laugh. Over the last few days it had become something he had took up. Trying to get Joel to genuinely laugh. Eventually he sighed and said; "You remember Sasha?" Joel thought about it for a second.<p>

"That girl you dated back in highschool?" Tommy nodded. "I never did tell you she had a sister did I?"

"I don't think anyone knew she had a sister." Tommy smirked. "Only reason I found out was 'cause she was the next chick I went after when Sasha and I broke up." Joel shook his head. "Tommy, you have absolutely no sense." Tommy laughed. "Yeah, that's what her sister told me after I hit a home run with her." Joel shook his head. "I'm surprised you didn't end up with about twenty kids." Once again Tommy laughed.

"To be completely honest I'm surprised too." This got a chuckle out of Joel.

"Well Tommy, I'd absolutely _love_ to hear more about your 'social life', but I wanted to know what you thought about sendin' some men out on a run." Tommy sighed, and dug in the back pocket of his pants and pulled out a small notepad and flipped it open. He looked down the first few pages. "I think we've got enough food to last us awhile Joel." He said. "And besides, Chad and his girl should be back with _something_." Joel nodded.

"I just think we should try and get a surplus goin'." Tommy nodded his head. "Well...I been thinkin' about gettin' some more animals to use for food. Only ones we got right now though is chickens. Down in Sikeston I know there's a slaughterhouse. If we could get us some more animals-cows and pigs and such, we could use that slaughterhouse. Maybe in a couple of days we can send a group of people out to see if the slaughterhouse is safe to use." Joel nodded his head.

"Yeah, I can live with that."

"Well you'd better. I don't think you woulda' been able to convince me to do anything else." Joel chuckled.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Howdy pardners! Sorry about the lack of action in these last three chapters. But maybe-maybe it'll start in the next chapter. But did you enjoy this one? Does it interest you that I have portions of these chapters through a fireflies point of view? What's going to happen now that he and his partner are on the road? Will they be in Bertrand soon? Are there going to be any more character deaths (I seem to have a lot of those)? Well you'll just have to wait and see.<strong>

**And if you haven't taken my advice and checked out The Last of Us: The Series: Season 1, you should go do that.**

**~Exangellion**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

Zak and Tony stayed the night on the side of the road. Zak slept in the bed of the truck, his sleeping bag laid out underneath him, his automatic laying beside him. He stared up at the stars, listening to Tony snore like a jackhammer, and he wondered just how they hadn't been noticed by any infected or passing bandits. Zak tried to outline the constellations above him, but he wasn't educated enough in astrology to know exactly what he was looking at. After several minutes of this, he gave up and rolled on his side to sleep. _  
><em>

He was only able to sleep for an hour at most. He was suddenly awoken by Tony shaking him. Zak sat up, rubbing at his eyes. "What is it?"

"C'mon man, another car just passed by. Whoever was drivin' must've thought we were dead or something because-" Tony was cut off by a blinding light shining on the both of them. Zak turned and looked behind him to see what looked like an old SUV parked in the middle of the road, several guys getting out of it. "Move!" Tony yelled. Zak jumped out of the bed of the truck with his rifle in his hands as gunfire ripped past the truck. He kept crouched down and turned the safety of his gun off. "Alright, I'll cover you. Get the angle on 'em." Tony said. Zak took a deep breath and nodded his head. He waited until the gunfire had ceased before moving. He sprinted kept crouched down as hem moved around the truck. The people who had opened fire on them were too busy trying to get a good shot at Tony to notice Zak sneaking around behind them.

There was a wrecked Montero on the side of the road and Zak crept behind that, making sure he had good cover before taking aim and unloading several rounds into the people firing at them. Three out of the five guys from the SUV fell before Zak's magazine was empty. He ducked down and reloaded quickly, hearing Tony give him cover fire. Once Zak had a new magazine in and there were rounds in the chamber, Zak came out of his cover and took aim, firing what seemed to be the last man standing. Zak ran over to the SUV and put one last bullet in the guys' head before looking over to Tony, who straightened and held up his hand, giving Zak the thumbs up.

But their attackers seemed to have had the same idea as they had. Someone had gone around and gotten the angle on Tony, because before Zak could even begin back in the direction of the truck, Tony's torso was shredded by the pellet spread of a spas .12 shotgun. Tony fell to his knees and slumped against the truck. Zak took aim with his automatic and blew the attacker away.

He jogged over to Tony's side and checked his pulse. But Tony's soul had left his body long before Zak had reached him. Zak sighed, and took Tony's pistol from the holster and shoved it into his back waistband. Zak reloaded his automatic once again and counted the remaining magazines. He had six left. Zak slung the automatic over his shoulder by the leather strap he had for it and walked over to their attacker's SUV. He stopped by the driver's side door and looked at the person slumped beside it. Zak hadn't successfully killed him and he lay, slowly bleeding out from a wound in his stomach. Zak Drew Tony's Beretta, put the barrel of it against the guy's temple and splattered his brains against the side of the car.

Zak pilfered through their SUV, taking what meager medical supplies they had. There were also two hunting rifles, several boxes of rounds for those, a few cans of peas and several bottles of water. Zak took one of the hunting rifles, the rounds for it, the food and the water. He put the supplies in his bag and put the automatic and hunting rifles in the passenger seat of the truck before climbing into the driver's seat and starting the engine with the keys Tony had left in the ignition. Beckie had been correct when she's said Tony was a complete idiot.

* * *

><p>Devin looked at his eye socket in the mirror. <em>This must be how Joel feels,<em> he thought. It didn't matter how many years passed, whenever he looked in the mirror and saw himself with only one eye it really did come as a shocker. After a moment of staring at the spot where his eye had been, and the scar he'd gotten the day his little sister died, and the scar Brandt had given him, he pulled the eye patch back on over his head and stepped out of the bathroom. He went into his and Ellie's bedroom and flopped down onto the bed. He sighed, staring up at the ceiling. He had only been there for a moment before standing again and going outside.

"Hey Devin!" Devin nodded at Alex and his brother Chet, who were walking down the street. "Just got off the wall." Alex said, high-fiving Devin. Chet inclined his head to Devin, who did the same. "Yeah, how was that?"

"Man, I got no idea why there's even a watch duty out here. There ain't nothin' around here that's gonna' sneak up on us man. No matter _what_ direction they come at us from, they'll get their asses handed to 'em." Devin shook his head. "Man, you can never be too careful. If you aren't you'll wind up dead." Alex rolled his eyes.

"I don't even think people know that this place exists. And if they stumble up on it and they're dangerous, we have the manpower to blow 'em away." Devin shook his head. "It isn't just about strength man, you've got to have a brain too." Alex laughed. "Well, you know me, ain't got no brain." Devin rolled his eye. "So that's what's wrong with you."

"Well, we're gonna' head for home. See you later man." Devin nodded his head and watched them walk off before stepping back inside the house and walking to the kitchen to have some water. In the kitchen he found Lizzie pilfering through the fridge. He came up behind her and poked her back. She spun around quickly. Devin chuckled. "Too easy."

"I've told you before, I'm ticklish." Devin chuckled again and pulled some water from the fridge. "Have you ever worn shoes? Even when we lived in the Detroit QZ I don't think I ever saw you wearing any shoes." Lizzie shook her head. "Don't you know that when you're barefoot when you walk around outside you get recharged?" Devin shook his head and looked up at the ceiling. "Yeah, but who's the one who's constantly getting her feet cut up?" Lizzie shrugged her shoulders. "You gotta' take the good with the bad." Devin closed his eye and rubbed his forehead. He could feel the beginning of a headache forming.

"Where's Ellie? You two are always together." Devin nodded his head. "She's on the afternoon watch duty."

"And Joel?"

"He's over at Tommy's."

"Doing?"

"How the hell am I supposed to know?" Lizzie laughed. Devin huffed and stood up. "I'm going to the wall, see how Ellie's doing."

"You're a stage five clinger." Devin flipped her the bird before he stepped out of the door and began for the wall.

* * *

><p>Zak walked with the automatic and the hunting rifle slung over his shoulder. The truck had ran out of gas several miles back. Zak dug into his pocket and pulled out the map, unfolding it and finding where he was. He was glad he and Tony had made good ground the day before, and he'd gotten most of the way there. There were only four miles left until he made it to Bertrand. Hell, maybe he would stay there. He didn't want to work with the fireflies anyway. It was just for survival that he did.<p>

Zak walked the last of the four miles without thinking, he just stared ahead of him, adjusting his blue backpack whenever he needed to. As he walked, he looked down at the firefly logo on his arm. He looked back up ahead of him, thought about it as he walked and shook his head. Zak reached up with his left arm and took off the band with the firefly logo and stuffed it into one of the side pockets of his backpack. He would go along with the mission, even to him the idea of having a world without any infected was pretty tempting. But he couldn't have any of them know that he was a firefly. If the guy who'd slaughtered the others back at St. Mary's five years ago was the way Beckie had told Zak he was, Zak would need to make sure he didn't even _suspect_ the truth.

* * *

><p>Chad and Angel stood by the front gate of Bertrand, waiting for Devin to open it up. Chad had knocked to the sound of Devin yelling; "Who dares disturb me!" Chad had yelled at him to just open the gate and now he waited. "I can't believe you made me go hunting with you." Angel said, sounding as if the last couple of days had been the worst she had ever endured. "Aw c'mon," Chad said. "It wasn't that bad. There were hardly any infected in the area we were hunting, <em>you <em>didn't have to do any kind of shooting, and we got a good haul." Chad held up the roped he had used to tie around the ten different small animals they had caught.

"Yeah, but you made me set a shitload of traps."

"Do you want to eat?" Angel huffed and leaned against the gate. "You could have just went by yourself. You're a good shot with that crossbow." Chad chuckled and shook his head. "While that may be true, I can't set traps like you can. Whoever taught you was pretty good." Angel nodded her head. When the gate opened, Devin bowed and held an arm out. "Greetings, comrades." He said. Chad slapped him upside the head and said; "Stop being retarded." Devin rubbed his head as the sound of Ellie laughing reached his ears. Devin sighed and climbed back up to the platform at the top of the gate.

"Joel doesn't have watch duty today does he?" He asked as he watched Chad and Angel walk off. Ellie shook his head. "Nah', he's off for the next few days. I get off in about an hour." Devin nodded his head and looked out towards the road. He stopped when he caught sight of the guy with one automatic rifle and one hunting rifle slung over his shoulder. Devin pointed this out to Ellie and she nodded her head. Devin drew his .357 and Ellie grabbed her hunting rifle. When the guy got close Ellie trained her rifle on him, Devin did the same with his revolver. "Stop right there!" Devin yelled down at him. He obeyed the order and held his hands up in a sign of surrender.

"No offense, but it's stupid threatening me. I don't feel like getting killed." He said. "If you want me to drop my weapons, I will-but only on one condition." Devin and Ellie looked at each other and Ellie gave Devin an almost imperceptible nod. "What's the condition?"

"You gonna' let me in?" Devin looked back at Ellie, then over to Dante, who was standing close by. He looked over at the two of them and shrugged his shoulders. "Sure, unless you give us a reason not to." The guy nodded his head. "I want my weapons back once you're sure you can trust me." Devin scratched at the back of his neck. "Fine." He said. Dante grunted as he hopped down and pulled open the gate for the stranger. Devin climbed down and motioned for Ellie to follow. When the guy was inside, he took the rifles and pointed down the street, towards Tommy's.

"You give me a reason to shoot you, I will."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So now Zak the (sort of) firefly is inside of Bertrand. What is going to happen next? Well I have no clue. See y'all next time. <strong>

**~Exangellion**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5:

Tommy looked up from what he was doing in his living room when Devin and Ellie brought Zak in. "What's goin' on?" He asked. Devin motioned to Zak and said: "He showed up at the gate. Just wanted your input, I guess." Tommy looked Zak over. Zak found himself beginning to feel uncomfortable, almost as if the guy scrutinizing him could see right through him and could peek at his alterior motives. But after several moments, Tommy sighed and nodded his head.

"He by himself?" Zak nodded his head. "I _was_ with someone else, but He didn't make it." Tommy nodded his head. "Yeah, I get it. Well...we ain't exactly got a whole lot of room left so...you're gonna' have to stay with someone. We're gonna' have to start buildin' places for people soon."

Devin and Ellie looked at each other. After a few seconds, Devin huffed. "I guess he could stay with us for a bit...if it's okay with Joel, that is." Tommy nodded. "Alright. I'll see you two later." Devin and Ellie said their goodbyes and began in the direction of home.

* * *

><p>When Joel heard the front door open, he looked up to see Devin, Ellie and someone else step inside. At the sight of the stranger, his brows furrowed. Ellie motioned at him and said; "This is..."<p>

"Zak...Zak Dejenueva." Joel nodded his head. "I'll take it you'll be stayin' with us for awhile." Ellie nodded her head. "Tommy said expansion should be starting soon." Joel nodded again. "Alright, well, I'm headin' out. Should be back later tonight."

"Where you headed?" Joel watched Devin lead Zak down the ball to show him where he could sleep before looking back to Ellie. "There's an old slaughterhouse just outside of Sikeston. It's only a few miles from here. Tommy and I and a few others are gonna' go and check it out. See if we can't use it." Ellie nodded her head and moved past Joel, into the kitchen.

"Don't get killed." She said as Joel slid his pack over his shoulders and shoved his 9mm into his back waistband. "I'll do my best." Then the door shut behind him and he was gone.

* * *

><p>Tommy pulled the truck to a stop and he, Joel, Rebecca and Dante stepped out onto the soft earth beneath them. Tommy pointed north. Joel looked that way and saw the slaughterhouse. It was a lone building about two hundred yards from where they were. "There it is," he said, looking back to the others. "Let's get goin'."<p>

They set out at an even pace, in a calm silence. They were almost to the slaughterhouse when Dante walked over to Joel and nudged his arm. "Hey, Joel. What's the difference between a blonde chick and an ironing board?" Joel groaned. He knew exactly where this was going. "What's the difference Dante?" Dante sniggered to himself before saying: "It's hard to spread the legs of an ironing board." Joel scoffed and shook his head. "You should talk to Ellie. Between the two of ya', you'd have enough jokes to last ya' years." Dante chuckled.

"Aw c'mon. You know that was funny."

"Sure." They fell back into silence. When they reached the slaughterhouse's front doors, Tommy gripped the handles and tried them. When it wouldn't open, he sighed and scrutinized over them. Something on the floor caught Joel's eyes. He bent down and picked it up. It was a pocket-sized notebook. Joel opened it up to the first page and pulled it out. There were words scrawled hastily on it.

_Don't go inside the slaughterhouse unless you have a death wish. Infected got in-tons of them. Just barely got out and locked the doors myself._

Joel handed the piece of paper to Tommy before shoving the notebook in his back pocket. Tommy read it carefully. After he 'd finished reading it, he looked at Joel. "You mind seein' if you can't hear anythin' in there?" Joel nodded his head and stepped over to the door. he pressed his ear against it and listened carefully. He heard several screeches, far off. He figured there was a pretty large amount of runners deeper in the slaughterhouse. In rapid succession he heard the telltale clicks. Then there was the thumping.

"Got...probably four or five clickers...a bloater and a whole mess of runners." Tommy cursed. "Great. Joel, why don't you help me with this? Rebecca, Dante, circle around and see if there ain't a way in through the back." They nodded their heads and moved out of sight.

Tommy looked at Joel. "Got any ideas on how to get in?" He asked. Joel shrugged his pack off, opened it up and pulled out a shiv. He put his pack back onto his shoulders and picked up the shiv. "Hold the doorhandles." He said. Tommy did as he was instructed. Joel stuck the blade of the shiv inbetween the doors and broke the lock. The shiv snapped as the lock did, and Joel tossed it aside. Tommy grinned. "You always were pretty good at that." Joel nodded his head as he crept inside, pulling drawing the 9mm and looking back at Tommy, ho followed him inside.

They were in a long hallway. Joel stopped to listen. Through the door on their left, Joel could hear several clickers and one or two runners. Joel went to take his pack off and pull out a few shivs, but before he could get his pack off of his shoulders, Tommy pulled out a large buckknife and held it out to Joel.

Joel took the knife. "Appreciate it." He said. Tommy nodded. Joel crept over to the door and peered inside, switching on the flashlight that was hanging from one of his pack's straps. There was a large counter, just to their left. Joel crept behind it and looked over it at the room. Large chains with hooks hung from the ceiling. There weren't any other places they could use as cover, and there were a good amount of infected in there. Joel counted four clickers and two runners.

"There's a Molotov in my pack." Joel whispered to Tommy. He understood what Joel wanted him to do. He opened up Joel's pack and quietly sifted around in it until he found the Molotov and an old Bic lighter that was just about out of lighter fluid. Tommy ignited the lighter and held the flame to the clothe sticking out of the bottle. He held it there until the clothe caught flame. He put the lighter back in Joel's pack and moved out from behind the counter before taking aim, and heaving the Molotov.

The bottle smashed in the middle of the floor and shattered. Flames erupted from the destroyed bottle in a roar. The clickers screeched and stumbled and hobbled towards the noise. Te minute their dry and fungus-covered bodies stepped into the flame, they were set ablaze. They began to flail around, screeching. Joel and Tommy watched as three of the four clickers fell, dead and charred, to the floor. The other stopped it's screeching and began to move around again, making it's hideous clicking noises. Joel made sure his 9mm was still in his back waistband before picking up Tommy's knife from where he'd set it down on the floor.

He moved quietly. It always frightened Tommy-how quietly Joel could move. It was almost as if he were a shadow sometimes. Joel snuck up behind the clicker and lunged. He wrapped the remaining half of his left arm around it's throat, struggling with the lack of grip he had for just a second before sinking the blade of Tommy's knife into it's throat.

In his grapple with the clicker, he'd made more noise than he would've liked. He'd attracted the attention of the two runners. Joel stood quickly and lunged at the one closest to him. He slammed he landed a punch on it's face, causing it to stagger back. Joel went to throw another punch, but it moved quicker, grappling with him. It had the jump on him for only a moment before Joel was able to take a few steps forward and throw it back. It slammed into one of the hooks hanging from the ceiling, the blade stabbing through it's back.

Joel hurried over to the dead clicker and retrieved Tommy's knife before going back to the stuck runner and sinking the blade into it's temple. With a grunt, he pulled the knife from it's head and looked back to Tommy. He had been in a grapple with the other runner, and now had the upper hand. He slammed a knee into it's gut, gripped it's right shoulder in his right hand and it's head in his left hand. He slammed it's head hard against the wall, shattering it's skull and splashing blood against the wall. He looked back to Joel.

"You okay?" He asked quietly, through deep breaths. Joel nodded his head. "Yeah, I'm fine." He gave Tommy his knife back. "Let's find Rebecca and Dante." Tommy nodded in agreement and the two of them crept back out into the hallway. Joel moved ahead of and looked into the door on his right. From inside came the sound of a knife sinking into flesh and he caught sight of Dante and Rebecca.

Joel motioned for Tommy to follow, and then he snuck inside. It only took him a second to realize that it was a freezer to store meat in. When Rebecca and Dante caught sight of the two brothers, looks of relief passed over their faces. "We heard the Molotov, thought you were dead for a second." Dante said. Tommy chuckled.

"Well, we ain't dead yet." Rebecca straightened and stretched. "Well, the only thing we have to deal with now is the bloater." Joel took off his pack and opened it up. He sifted through the random bits of supplies until he found the other two Molotovs he had left. He gave one to Tommy and one to Rebecca. "I guess you and me will be shooting the bloater if the Molotovs don't work, huh?" Joel nodded his head. He looked over at Rebecca. She gave him a small kiss on the cheek. "Let's do this."

Joel looked over at Tommy, who smirked. "Let's stay focused." He said in a mocking voice. Joel flipped him the bird. Joel led the way down the hallway, crouched with his 9mm drawn. They traced the last room and Joel looked through the doorway. The bloater stood, almost motionless on the other side of the room. He looked back at Dante, who had a shotgun drawn. Joel looked at Tommy and Rebecca, and nodded his head.

"God I hope this works." Rebecca muttered before setting the clothe in the bottle alight, reaching her arm back and tossing it at the bloater. It smashed against the ground by it's feet, spouting flames and igniting the bloater. The bloater flailed around, letting out roars of pain that sent chills down Joel's spine. It only took about a minute or two for the flames that had engulfed the bloater to die down. Then it was lumbering around, trying to figure out which direction the Molotov had come from.

Tommy swallowed, used Rebecca's lighter to light his Molotov and lobbed it at the bloater. For just a moment Joel was sure that Tommy was going to miss, but Tommy's aim was accurate. The bloater went u. In flames once again. They watched and waited. Joel felt a wave of relief wash over him when he saw the bloater fall forward, dead. He had been so sure that they would have to get up close and personal with it. Tommy inspected the room and nodded his head.

"Now all we have to do is get a generator out here and we'll have ourselves a slaughterhouse." Joel grinned and nodded his head. "This could work."

* * *

><p>Devin and Ellie walked with Zak around Bertrand, giving him a tour. They had walked almost through the entire town in the span of a half an hour. They moved through the town in a large, somewhat rough circle, showing Zak the houses of people they knew and where everything that was important was situated.<p>

Now they were headed back in the direction of their house. Devin looked Zak over as they walked. "You good with those rifles?" He asked. Zak looked him in the eyes as he nodded his head. "Better with the hunting rifle, but it's always good to have some heavy firepower." Devin nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I can respect that."

They had reached their house. Zak looked over at the house standing next to theirs and pointed over to it. "Anybody live there?" He asked. The place seemed as if someone had kept up on it and hadn't let it fall apart. Ellie and Devin nodded their heads. "Yeah, that's Chad and Angel's house." Zak stopped. Angel was the name Devin had used. He was suddenly reminded heavily of the reason why he had left the Chicago QZ in the first place.

He remembered Angel, the one true friend he'd had since...well, forever. He remembered spending almost every night with her, just spending time talking and doing nothing. He remembered that her parents had died, and she had left the QZ. He'd left shortly after her, hoping to find her and be with her.

For years he's tracked her, and several times he had been so _damned close._ But then he's gone through that small period where he did nothing but wander. And then, just a year ago, he'd been unable to find any food and had begun to starve to death. Then the fireflies had found him, brought him back to their place in the Palace Station.

But was it the same Angel? The chances of that weren't exactly all that high. Zak looked at the house next to theirs for several moments before following Devin and Ellie inside. He'd check it out, see if it was _his _Angel. But he's have to get his nerves together first.

He went to sleep that night with thoughts of Angel, and thoughts of the girl, Ellie and what he was in Bertrand for.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Man it'a been awhile since I last updated. Sorry about that. But anyway, you don't want to hear my excuses. What did you think about the chapter? What's going to happen with Zak now that he (possibly) has an old friend who is a good friend of Ellie's-if it's the same Angel he's been searching for. Will that maybe push him to stay with Joel and co and maybe help save Ellie from the fireflies? We will just have to wait and see to find out.<strong>

**~Exangellion**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6:

Joel and Ellie were the first two awake the next morning, and the two of them sat at the table, eating a few eggs that Joel had cooked a few minutes before. As they sat, Joel watched her, feeling no small amount of pride in him. When Ellie saw him, she rubbed at her cheek. "There isn't anything on my face, is there?" She asked. Joel grinned and shook his head. "Naw, just lookin' is all." Ellie rubbed at her cheek again. "You sure? I don't want to go walking around with something stuck to my face." Joel chuckled. "I'm sure." She nodded her head and shoveled some of the eggs into her mouth. Joel took a few bights himself.

"I can't believe we're even doin' this." He said after a moment. Ellie looked at him with her brows furrowed. "What?"

"Just sittin' here. I mean, it seems like it was just yesterday the two of us were tryin' to find the fireflies." That time of Joel's life had been permanently burned into his brain. Ellie nodded her head. It wasn't like she had forgotten either. Joel ate the last of his eggs and stood, picking up the plate and putting it in the sink. He would clean it up later, but he had the morning shift out on the wall that day, and he needed to get going.

"I got the mornin' shift today, so I'll see ya' when I get back." Ellie only nodded her head. Joel laughed at how disheveled she looked. "Be good, alright?" Joel said. Ellie could tell he wasn't asking her to. She nodded again and watched as he slid his 9mm into the back waistband of his jeans and stepped through the front door, shutting it behind him. Ellie sat there for a long time, trying to will her mind awake. She wasn't sure how long she sat there, but she was pulled from herself as Devin walked into the kitchen, followed by Zack. "Morning." Devin said, planting a kiss on the top of Ellie's head as he stepped past her and opened the fridge.

"You already eat?" Devin asked. "Yep," was Ellie's reply. Devin looked at her. "Did Rebecca already go out to the wall? Joel said they were both working it this morning."

"Yeah, he left like...literally five minutes ago." Devin grinned and pulled out a bottle of water before taking a big gulp and offering the bottle to Ellie. When she declined it, he held it out to Zack. The other took it and took a small drink before returning the bottle. Devin took another deep gulp. "Tommy wants me over at his place. Gonna' start working on the plans for expansion. You wanna' come? Or are you going to be fine for awhile?" Devin asked as he walked over to the couch and pulled on his boots. He picked his .357 and Sam Browne belt off of the table and strapped the belt through his belt buckles before sliding the revolver into it's holster.

"How long you gonna' be gone?" Devin shrugged his shoulders. "I'd expect at least two hours. We aren't going to building _anything_ for awhile. Gonna' have to get the supplies first. You going to be alright?" Ellie nodded her head. "Probably going to take a nap. Didn't sleep too well last night." Devin nodded and looked at Zak. "You want to come?" Zack shrugged his shoulders and grabbed his black hoodie from the room he shared with Ellie and Devin before grabbing his hunting rifle off of the table and following Devin to the door. "Get some sleep alright? Love you." Devin said as he stepped out of the door and shut it softly.

* * *

><p>Devin wasn't surprised to find Chad at Tommy's house when they got there. Tommy and Chad were standing by Tommy's kitchen table, looking over a map of Bertrand and discussing the expansion. They were so enveloped with their conversation that they didn't notice when Devin and Zak walked over and stood by them. Chad looked up and nodded at Devin only briefly before looking back at the map, pointing to a spot and muttering something for Tommy to here. Tommy's brows furrowed. "Hey Chad!" Chad, Devin and Zak looked up towards the kitchen at the sound of a girl's voice. Angel stepped out of the kitchen holding a can of what looked like tomato soup. "I was going to make-" when she caught sight of Zak, she stopped. The can of tomato soup dropped to the floor. The sound of it caused Tommy to look up.<p>

The entire room had gone quiet. Zak and Angel were looking at each other. Chad, Devin and Tommy looked between the two of them. "What?" Devin and Chad spoke at the same time. Zak put both hands on his hips and looked down at the floor for a moment. He could feel tears welling up in his eyes. He looked back up at Angel. He went to move his right hand, but almost immediately brought it back to his hip. He sniffed, and fought desperately to keep the tears from spilling. He took a step back from the table and only held out his arms when Angel crashed into him, pulling her into a bear hug. Chad chuckled and grinned. Devin felt a small smile grow on his face.

"I guess they know each other." Chad said. Devin nodded in agreement and chuckled again. "Small world." Was all he said. Tommy gave a grin and looked at Chad. Chad shook his head. "She said she used to be close to someone. But you know her-she'd never open up about anything." He whispered to Tommy.

Zack and Angel held each other tightly. Zack buried his face into her shoulder with a smile on his face, a few tears sliding down his cheeks. "Hey wings." He whispered. Angel half laughed and half sobbed at the sound of the old nickname Zack had used for her. Zack only held her tighter, not wanting to let go. After several minutes of just holding her, Zack felt he'd had at least a bit of his fill. He took a small step back and looked at her. "You got a little taller." He said with a smile. "Last time I saw you, you were this tall." He held a hand down, close to Angel's stomach. She looked down at Zack's hand, and he lifted it up, brushing it against her nose. She wrinkled her nose and leaned her head back.

"Dick." She muttered. Zack chuckled and wiped at his eyes before glancing at the other three. "Uh...sorry for making this kind of awkward." He said. Chad smiled. "Well, at least I don't have to introduce you to her." He said after a second. Tommy looked back at the map. "I'd hate to be a workaholic but...we kind of do need to get started on this." Chad and Devin nodded their heads and Devin gave both of them a smirk. "You guys can chill in the living room or something. We'll leave you lovebirds to it." Zack and Angel both flipped him off, but Zack followed Angel into the living room all the same.

They had a lot of catching up to do.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Well, it looks like Angel is the Angel that Zack has apparently been searching for for years. Sorry for the mushiness of this chapter, but they needed to be reunited at some point so, might as well get that done. Next chapter, things will begin to come to a head. Anyway, what do you think? Is it awesome that there's some kind of hope in the air? Do you think that hope is going to be snuffed out? Zack works for the fireflies, and if we know anything about Angel: she don't like the fireflies. And if Zack is to go through with the mission he's been given, he'd have to leave Angel again. Does this mean he's going to warn Joel of the nearing danger (*Cough* not a spoiler, just a suggestion), or will he go through with the mission he's been given: kidnap Ellie and bring her to the fireflies. <strong>

**We will find out next time.**

**~Exangellion**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7:

Devin stretched his back and looked around him. Expansion had begun days ago and Devin had been there since they had started. He looked at the small house they were working on. It wasn't really much more then a log cabin really. But Devin was sure that once they'd finished the building of it, the place wouldn't be half bad.

"Hey Devin." He looked up at Tommy as he walked over. "Why don't you take the rest of the day off? Hell, just about everyone else is ready to pack it in for the night, and you've been here every day since we started." Devin looked back at the house. "You sure? I don't mind staying for a bit longer." Tommy grinned and shook his head.

"Naw, you should head on home and get some rest." Devin sighed and nodded his head. "Right, I'll see you later." He grabbed his denim vest and pulled it on before beginning down the street. "See ya' later Tommy." He said, giving Tommy a small wave before turning away completely. He walked in a peaceful silence. He looked up at the sky. It was springtime. He didn't know why, but he suddenly felt uneasy. As if he were now experiencing the calm before the storm.

When he got to the front door of the house, he opened the door and quickly shut it behind himself, through the window. He could see the street was deserted. It was late and most of the townspeople were probably inside. Devin stepped away from the window and entered the kitchen. He saw that Joel, Rebecca, Ellie, Angel and Zack were in the living room. Ellie, Angel and Zack were busy playing a card game at the kitchen table. Devin walked over to the table and gave Ellie a kiss on the cheek.

"How was work?" She asked without looking up at the cards. Devin shrugged. "We're making progress. That's really the only thing I can say." Ellie nodded her head. Devin chuckled and went down the hallway to his and Ellie's room. He grabbed a black T-shirt and traded it for his denim vest. He pulled it on before walking back down the hallway and into the living room. As he began to move by the coffee table, he said: "You know, I think-" he didn't finish his sentence. Zack's backpack had been sitting on the coffee table, and Devin had accidentally hit it with his hand, causing it to go tumbling to the floor.

The pocket on the side had been open. And out of it slipped a small band. Devin could easily see the firefly logo. Joel had seen it too and both of them had froze. Joel had told Devin of what really had gone down back in Salt Lake three years earlier. Devin had totally agreed with what Joel had done. Joel had also decided to tell Ellie. She'd been furioua beyond words. It had taken a lot for Devin to calm her down and get her to forgive Joel.

But now Joel and Devin were frozen. They just stared at the firefly band lying on the ground. When Zack had heard the sound of his backpack hitting the floor, he'd looked up and stopped. Ellie and Angel looked over as well. The entire room had gone silent. Joel put his hand on Rebecca's shoulder and gently pushed her aside before climbing to his feet and moving around the coffee table and standing in the middle of the living room. He stared at Zack, who stood up. He looked mostly calm, but on the inside, it was almost as if he were having a miniature heart attack. He couldn't believe it, he felt so _stupid. _He'd been so wrapped up in spending time with Angel that he had almost completely forgotten about the fireflies and his mission for them. He'd even highly considered just not doing it. Staying with them, living a calm and easy life.

But now it seemed he wouldn't be doing _any_ of that.

Joel bent down and picked up the firefly band. He took a few steps forward and tossed the band onto the kitchen table, in front of the chair where Zack had sat. "You wanna' explain this?" He asked. His voice was so cold that even Devin and Ellie felt their hearts race. Angel looked from the band to Zack. She was at a loss for words. Zack swallowed. "...I can explain."

"Well, you'd better explain fast." Joel growled. Memories of the events that had transpired at the St. Mary's hospital were coming back to him. He knew that if Zack were walking around with a firefly band, there would be more. Where there's fire, there's smoke. Zack scrubbed a hand through his hair. He supposed there was no point in lying now, it was already out in the open. He took a deep breath before speaking. "Well...I guess it's kind of obvious that I'm with the fireflies." Joel tensed. The vocal confirmation made his blood boil even more than it already was. He felt like he needed to punch something. No one moved. It seemed as if everyone except for Zack and Joel had froze.

"What do they want?" Joel already knew. There could be no other reason. He just needed to hear it out loud. Needed to know for sure. Zack took another deep breath.

"They want your girl, Ellie." Joel was moving quicker than he could think. At first he didn't even realize it. It was almost like his body began to work on it's own. He gripped Zack's black hoodie in his fist and slammed him against the wall. Zack didn't struggle, but Joel could feel his body tense up. "Hey, hey, hear me out."

"There ain't nothin' to hear out." Joel was just about ready to kill him. He didn't need any other reason. Zack was a threat that needed to be eradicated.

"Listen...the only reason they sent _me _out here was because I'm expendable. They didn't say that, but I know it. I've only been with them for, what? Eight or nine months." Joel didn't loosen his grip on Zack's hoodie. He held him in place, trying to decide whether he should kill him or not. Zack swallowed. "But I've been gone for over a week now. The fireflies are stationed out in Vegas-the Palace Station. If I'd succeeded with my mission, I would've been back by now. They're probably getting more men-more able bodied men-ready to take the trip out here. Hell, they've probably left by now."

"How does that help us?" Joel growled. Zack took a few deep breaths. "Hey, you know now. I could've kept that info from you man. I could have let you kill me, and let the fireflies give you a surprise visit. But I didn't." Joel's grip tightened on Zack's hoodie. But then he heard Ellie's voice.

"He's right Joel." Joel looked back at Ellie. "Excuse me?"

"He could have not told you. And Devin and I have seen him shoot. He's probably one of the best shots we have here. He could be useful." Joel looked at the ground for a moment. He took a deep breath and exhaled loudly. He looked back at Devin, who shrugged his shoulders. "He did kind of warn us." Joel looked back at Zack and leaned in close.

"If you've lied to me in _any _way...I will kill you." Zack nodded his head. Joel slammed Zack into the wall hard and let go. Zack rubbed at his shoulder and watched Joel as he walked towards the hall to his bedroom. Joel stopped and looked back at Zack. "How long of a drive was it from Vegas?" Zack shrugged his shoulder.

"It took me about twenty-four hours. That includes the time it took me to sleep." Joel put his hand on his hip and studied the floor. After a moment he looked back at Zack. "You meet us at the wall in the mornin'. We're gonna' have to keep a good lookout for them fireflies." Then he walked down the hallway and disappeared through the door to his bedroom.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Man, Joel was so close to murdering the fuck out of Zack. Well, what did you guys think? Are the fireflies on their way to get Ellie? If they are, what's going to happen when they show up? Is Joel going to be able to keep them from Ellie (if they show up)? Is Joel going to be able to restrain himself from murdering Zack? Find out the answers to these questions next time.<strong>

**~Exangellion**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8:

The firefly was choking on his own blood. Joel punched him again. Teeth snapped and Joel's knuckle's split. Joel punched the firefly again. His nose broke and pain shot through Joel's hand. Joel punched him again. Blood slowly drizzled from one of the firefly's eyelid. Joel punched him one last time. Blood splashed onto Joel's face.

Joel clambered to his feet and groaned at the pain in his back. He'd been hit with a pipe there, pretty sure something was fractured. He looked around himself. They had been able to keep the town of Bertrand _itself_ from taking any considerable damage, but their walls were fucked. Joel began limping in the direction of Tommy's. He and the others had decided to meet there after holding off the fireflies.

Zack's information had been right. It was a good thing too, they would have been slaughtered if they hadn't been able to get prepared for the attack before it showed up. Joel clutched his leg with his hand. Blood slowly oozed from the bullet hole there. He limped as quick as he could. He needed to get to Tommy's in time to meet the others.

Joel looked left and right. The townspeople moved around, recovering from the extensive fighting that had just taken place. Joel was glad that they had been able to drive the surviving fireflies away, he wasn't entirely sure of the amount of survivors there would have been if they hadn't.

Joel reached Tommy's house, and what he found there made his blood run cold. Rebecca sat with her back against the door with her hand at her throat. Blood seeped through her fingers, her hands were as red as his.

"Rebecca?" Joel went to her as fast as he could. He dropped down to his knees, and held her close. Rebecca looked at him for awhile before actually registering that he was there.

"...Hey Joel..." Joel held her as close as he could without hurting her. "One got me man..." A small smile split her lips. "Came out of fucking nowhere...We had a good run, huh?" Joel felt pain rip through his chest at those words. He hung his head for a just a second and saw Rebecca's blood pooling onto his chest, staining his grey shirt crimson. Rebecca's eyes glazed over, and her gaze became distant.

"I guess I'll see you later Joel..." Rebecca relaxed, and her body went limp. Joel felt a familiar wave of pain wash over him. But what shocked him was the lack of tears; Joel didn't think he had any tears left. Joel just held her close and felt his body shudder.

Joel was still sitting there when Tommy and Chad found him. Joel felt Tommy's hand on his shoulder. Joel looked up at him for just a moment before standing. He looked over at Chad, who nodded at him. Chad had a wild look in his eyes, like he was still ready to fight someone else. There was also some measure of sadness in his gaze when he caught sight of Rebecca's lifeless body.

"Where's Angel? And her buddy?" Joel asked. No sooner had the words left his lips before he heard the sound of pounding feet. Joel looked past Chad to see Zack and Angel running over. "Everyone alright?" Chad put an arm around Angel. "I think the two of you better head on over to my house." He muttered. He motioned with his head towards Rebecca's body. Angel suddenly became somber, and she nodded her head. Tommy looked at Chad.

"Could you take her down to the cemetary?" He asked him. Chad nodded and gently lifted Rebecca up. He gave Joel a sympathetic look before moving off. Tommy motioned to the door. "You wanna' head in?" Joel looked out to the street. He couldn't see Ellie or Devin. Joel shook his head. "I'm gonna' wait for Ellie." He leaned against the railing on Tommy's porch and pinched the bridge of his nose. Tommy leaned against the bench and wrapped an arm around Joel's shoulders. Joel let his hand drop and he looked out at the street. Where the hell was Ellie?

Joel opened his mouth to say something, when he saw someone turn onto their street. He stumbled and fell, and clambered back to his feet. Joel and Tommy exchanged a glance before jumping off of the porch and hurrying over to the person. By the time Joel and Tommy had reached him, he was once again lying on his stomach and was struggling to stand. Joel knew who it was the moment he caught sight of the long, brunette hair tied back in a tight ponytail. He gently rolled Devin over and grimaced.

Devin had been beaten badly by someone. His eye was swollen, he had several open wounds, his lip was busted and his nose looked a little crooked. Blood stained the side of his head and Joel carefully observed the cut on his temple. It had to have been the fireflies that had done this to him. It took Joel only a few moments to realize something: Ellie had been with Devin. And if the fireflies had caught hold of him, that meant-

"Devin?" Joel gently shook him. Devin groaned and was just barely able to get his eye open. He coughed. "Ellie? Where's Ellie?" Joel couldn't keep the fear and worry out of his voice. Devin coughed again. "Th...the fireflies. They got her...they wanted me to...to tell you..." And then he was unconscious. His head lolled to the side and he was still. Joel looked at Tommy and saw the worry in his eyes as well. Joel looked back down at Devin. He went to stand; go and grab the things he would need to go and get Ellie, but he felt Tommy's hand on his shoulder and he stopped. "Don't just go runnin' off into the blue brother. We need to go into this with a clear head." Joel looked at Tommy when he realized that he had said we.

"Let's get Devin inside, see what happened. Then we'll make a move." No matter how bad Joel wanted-_needed_ to go and find Ellie, he couldn't help but agree with Tommy. He knew that they were on borrowed time, but he needed all the answers they could get before they dove headfirst into shit. Joel nodded his head. "Help me carry him."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Oh shit, the fireflies have Ellie! What is Joel going to do now? What will their next move be? Does this mean Las Vegas is their current destination? Well, I am contractually bound to not tell you anything. So I suppose we'll both just have to wait until next time. See ya' later!<strong>


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9:

Devin shot up from where he slept and automatically regretted it. Pain ripped through his head and chest. He groaned and lied back, his hands clutching his forehead. He heard a set of feet against the floor and he slowly opened his eye. Joel stood there, dressed in a gray button-down shirt. Devin closed his eye again. It took a few seconds, but the memory of him getting the shit beat out of himself by the fireflies. He remembered the chick who had beaten him while another guy held him. She'd told Devin to inform Joel that they'd gotten what they came for. Devin knew that meant Ellie, and he gritted his teeth in anger and frustration. They had her. What was he going to do?

Devin cleared his throat and did his best to ignore the pain in his head. "Did...did you guys get Ellie?" He opened his eye (which was sore and slightly swollen) to see Joel shake his head. Despite the pain, Devin sat up. He watched Joel limp over to him. "You need to be careful, you got a concussion." Devin slowly shook his head. "Why haven't you gone after her yet? H...how long was I out?" Joel shrugged his shoulder and looked at a clock that was ticking on the wall above the couch. "About two hours." Devin took a deep breath and winced. He definitely had a few broken ribs.

"We _need_ to go after her." Devin said. Joel nodded his head. "I woulda' gone, but I knew you would've followed. Don't really want you goin' alone in the condition you're in." Devin slowly got to his feet, wobbled and almost fell, then stood. "We gotta' go after her." Joel nodded his head in agreement. "We are. You got a chopper workin'. I don't want too many people common' with us on this trip. We'll have Zack come with us, considering he's a firefly. We'll get Ellie and we'll go." Devin nodded. "I'll take it my stuff is here?" Joel motioned towards the kitchen. "Alright, I'll head to the bike, wait for you by the gate. Don't take too long."

Devin couldn't exactly move very fast, so it took him a minute, but he got to his bike and got to the gate just after Joel and Zack. Joel had a pickup parked outside the gate. When Devin pulled up and stopped by it, Joel rolled down the window and spoke. "You know the way to Vegas?" Devin nodded his head. "Even if I didn't, I'm sure he'd be able to tell us." He said, motioning to Zack with his head. Joel waited for Devin to go ahead before pulling out himself.

As Devin sped down the road, enjoying the feel of the wind through his hair, He assessed his injuries through the pain he felt. Pain ripped through his chest with every breath he took, so he figured he had at least one or two broken ribs. He had a horrible headache, the pain was mainly located at the back of the right side of his head, obviously he had a concussion. His eye was swollen and it wasn't exactly easy for him to see. His top lip stung like hell, and Devin just knew he had a broken nose. He gently shook his head as he maneuvered the chopper around a tipped car on the far left lane. He looked into the rear view mirror to make sure Joel made it around it before revving the engine and putting on a bit more speed.

* * *

><p>Ellie slowly stirred and felt a small bit of pain in the back of her head. Someone had hit her pretty hard. She opened her eyes a little and looked around. It was dark and she could feel every bump the vehicle made. It only took her a second to come to the conclusion that she was in the back of a van. She tried to move her arms, but found that they were tied and bound behind her.<p>

"Well, that's just fucking perfect." She mumbled to herself. She looked around. There were a few people in the seats at the front. A woman with her blonde hair tied back in a bun, dressed in a black tanktop and faded jeans was driving. From where she sat, Ellie could clearly see the firefly bands.

That was just goddamned perfect. Ellie looked towards the doors. There were windows on the back and she could see the open road behind them. The sun was beginning to set, it would soon be dark. Ellie cursed her rotten luck. She could barely believe this was even happening.

She leaned her head back and prayed for either a chance for escape, or for Joel.

* * *

><p>It was dark. Even with the headlights on, Joel could barely see. He spared a glance at Zack for just a moment before returning his gaze back to the road. The kid was lucky Joel needed him, or he'd be dead right now. It was his fault that this was even happening, if he hadn't come to Bertrand for the fireflies, Ellie and he would probably be at home eating dinner with Devin and his crazy friend Lizzie. Joel couldn't believe their luck either. It was a miracle that he and Zack had been able to get their gear and get a truck that ran before Angel found out. The two of them had been inseparable ever since he had arrived at Bertrand, and Joel didn't want to have to bring more people than he was sure he needed.<p>

Joel glanced at Zack again. The kid was staring out the windshield with his head resting on his hand, the arm the hand was connected to was on the window. He felt Joel's gaze on him and he looked at the older man for just a few seconds before turning back to the road. They stayed quiet for awhile longer. Eventually, Zack looked at him and said; "For what it's worth, I'm sorry." Joel snorted, but didn't start an argument. He was too worried about Ellie to even care at the moment. "Yeah, I bet you are."

"I _am._ I _was_ going to stay there with you guys. Forget the fireflies. To be totally honest, I didn't expect them to come in such a large force. There were way more men there than I thought there was going to be." Joel snorted again, but this time held his tongue. The kid at least sounded mostly sincere. Joel figured he would have to forgive him for now. He was their only contact to inside information. Joel rubbed the back of his head and sighed. He was so damned worried about Ellie. He prayed that she was alright, he didn't know what he would do if they were able to get to the surgery.

No, he would stop it. He had to. And if he couldn't, he would have to keep Devin from any weapons and get Zack to take him back to Bertrand with a message for Tommy. Joel knew he just couldn't live without his babygirl.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Well, now Joel, Devin and Zack are going on a rescue mission for Ellie. What kind of events are going to play out this time (because we all already know it probably isn't going to go well)? Is Ellie going to be able to hold her own while she waits for either an opportunity to escape, or Joel? What does Beckie (current leader of the fireflies) have in store for our favorite redheaded badass? Well, that would be spoiling it if I told you.<strong>

**~Exangellion**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10:

The sun peeked out from behind the desert's mountains and Joel squinted his eyes. He'd been driving for hours and he felt the fatigue wash over him. He watched Devin ahead of them, maneuvering the copper easily along the street. Joel looked at Zack. His head was in his hand and his eyes were closed. Joel looked back at the street and stopped the truck abruptly, waking Zack up in the process. Devin had parked the chopper and was looking at a sign. "Wait here." Joel said, pulling his arm around himself and opening he door. He climbed out and walked over to Devin.

When he noticed Joel, he pointed at the sign on the highway. According to what Joel could read, Las Vegas was only a few miles further. Joel looked around at the desert they were in. Daylight had only started several minutes ago, but Joel could feel the heat already beginning. "We shouldn't go driving through the city." Devin said. Joel nodded his head. "We'll get a little closer, probably somewhere near the strip. Walk the rest of the way." Devin nodded.

"You gonna' be alright?" he asked. Joel furrowed his brows and Devin chuckled. "Dude, you could barely walk when I woke up yesterday. You gonna' be alright?" Joel nodded his head before going back to the truck. Devin had been right. His leg felt like someone was sawing at it with a knife. But he would be able to make it. He had to.

"You know how to get to the their camp from the strip?" Joel asked as Devin started off again. Zack nodded. "Yeah, it's at the Palace Station...maybe a mile or two from the strip." Joel nodded his head. He remembered the one time he and Tommy had gone to Las Vegas. They'd eaten breakfast at the Palace Station. One of the chefs there (Joel had seen a station casinos commercial where that specific chef had been referred to as the omelette king) had made their food. Joel had seen why they called him that.

Joel shook these thoughts from his head and concentrated on the situation at hand. "Let's get a move on." He muttered.

* * *

><p>Ellie moved he right arm around as much as she could to keep it from falling asleep. The fireflies current leader, Ellie thought she'd heard her name was Beckie, had handcuffed her to the bedpost, between two of the rungs that connected the posts together. The posts weren't wood, and Ellie didn't have a way to unscrew the the post from the rungs with her knife, Beckie had taken <em> that<em> with her too. Ellie leaned back on the bed, her right arm still hanging from the cuff and thought.

How in hell was she going to get out of here? She looked around the room. There was a nightstand right beside the bed. Ellie thought about it for a second and decided it wouldn't hurt for her to try. She sat up and got off of the bed. She opened the first drawer on the nightstand and huffed. Only a dusty, old pocket bible. She closed it and opened up the next one. She crouched down as low as she could and stared at the things on the inside. A pen, a pair of scissors and some faded, torn paper.

"Who the hell would have a pair of scissors in here?" She muttered. Oh well, that didn't matter. She pulled the pair of scissors out. She just might be able to break the lock on the handcuffs with it; Joel had tought her his little trick several months previous.

After she had seperated the blades in the scissors, Ellie prepared to go to work on the handcuffs. "Okay, here goes nothing." She muttered.

* * *

><p>Joel winced at the pain coursing through his leg. He had sewn it back at Tommy's place, before Devin had awoken. But he knew he hadn't given it enough time to heal. But Joel had to deal with it, he couldn't keep worrying about himself.<p>

Joel, Devin and Zack moved as quietly as they could, trying to reach the Palace Station without bringing any attention to themselves. Twice they had to backtrack and go around some sort of roadblock. Joel lost count of how many infected they snuck by after the number reached the double digits. Three or four times Joel was forced to take out several groups of infected. Devin and Zack helped with it an. After what felt like years they reached the Palace Station.

They were underneath a half crumbled highway overpass, staring at the disheveled, slightly destroyed and overgrown casino. Joel pulled his pistol from his back waistband and went to approach the building. He was stopped by Zack's hand on his arm.

"She's probably expecting you." Joel nodded his head. "Yeah, I was expecting that."

* * *

><p>Beckie sat quietly on one of the booth seats in the feast buffet and rubbed at her temples. It had been one big hassle to get the girl into the hotel room, and the stress from waiting for her guardian was a lot to handle. From what he had done to the fireflies the last time they had tried to go through with the procedure had been pretty bad. But she knew they could handle him now that they knew who they were dealing with.<p>

Beckie knew Ellie's guardian would be coming for her, it hadn't been too hard to come to that assumption. All they had to do was wait for him to show up and make one mistake. Then he would be dead and she would have nothing else to worry about.

* * *

><p>Ellie finally broke the cuff's lock and got it off her wrist. "Goddamn." She muttered. She rubbed at her wrist for just a second, then she moved. She hurried over to the door after grabbing the other scissor blade. She tried the door nob and wasn't surprised to find it locked. Using Joel's old trick, she slid the scissor blade in between the door and the wall and worked at the lock until she heard its satisfying crunch. Ellie dropped the broken blade and slowly twisted the knob on the door.<p>

She stuck her head out of the door and looked both left, then right. Judging from the numbers on the doors, she was on the eighth floor. Almost silently, she moved, creeping slowly down the hallway. She stopped at a fork in the hallway and peered to the right. A single firefly stood by an empty elevator shaft with an automatic rifle gripped in his hands. Ellie needed to be careful.

She took three deep breaths, and crept forward. She moved five feet, then set off in a sprint. Unfortunately for the firefly, he didn't notice her coming until it was too late. "Oh shit!" He managed to yell before Ellie slammed into him with her shoulder smashing into his chest. With her left hand, she gripped the side of the elevator door. With her right, she grabbed a hold of the rifle as the firefly fell back into the empty shaft. The gun was ripped from his grasp, and he let out a loud shriek as he plummeted eight floors down before slamming against the floor far below. Ellie took a deep breath and stepped back.

"Oh fuck, I can't believe that worked," she muttered. She ejected the magazine, and counted the shells. There were thirty-five; almost a full clip. She loaded the rifle back up and going back down the hallway, the way she had come from. At the end, she found fire exit. She tried the knob and was surprised to find it open. She looked back down the hallway one last time before beginning down the stairs.

* * *

><p>Beckie looked up as her right hand man, a man in his late-thirties named Alec, entered. "You wanted to see me?" He asked in his deep voice. Beckie sighed. "I need you to go back to that town of theirs." She said. Alec quirked a brow. "You sure that's a good idea? We had to fall back the last time we attacked-"<p>

"We left because we got what we needed! Don't question me Alec." Alec nodded his head.

"There anything you want me to do, specifically?" Beckie shook her head. "No, just as long as you make sure all of them are dead."

"What about the guardian? You think he's coming?" Beckie nodded her head. "He'll be here. But keep focused, all you need to do is make sure there isn't anyone left." Alec began for the door, nodding his head. He was just about to exit, when Beckie called to him. "On second thought...how about you wait for me? Take control of the place, but don't kill anybody. I'd like to see that firefly deserter one last time." Alec grinned.

"I'll see you soon, then."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Man, it's been a bit since I last updated! Sorry about that. But anyway, what did y'all think? What's going to happen now that Beckie's sending a platoon of fireflies back to Bertrand? Is Tommy going to be able to hold a firefly attack without Joel there? Is Joel going to get to Ellie before someone else dies? Why do I keep asking questions that I can't answer? I don't know, but I will see you later.<strong>

**~Exangellion**


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11:

Joel and Devin moved silently up the parking garage staircase, weapons drawn. Devin held Zack's automatic rifle in his hands, and took point. Joel kept close behind, keeping his eyes behind them, making sure there wasn't any surprises on the way.

When they reached the top floor, Devin crouched and hurried over to the guardrail. He pulled from his pocket a broken piece of glass and flashed the sun off of it, pointing the ray of light in the direction of the Palace Station billboard on the other side of the parking lot, next to the street.

Up on the billboard, Zack saw the signal and flashed some sunlight back, with his own piece of glass. He gripped the hunting rifle in his hands and looked through the scope, trying to find something he could make a distraction with. He scanned the parking lot carefully, stopping at the Humvee that was parked close to the main double doors. He took aim and breathed deeply several times. He slid his finger over the trigger and applied a bit of pressure. He stopped only for a moment, to readjust his aim, before pulling the trigger.

* * *

><p>When Zack had told Joel and Devin that he would make a distraction, they hadn't exactly suspected him to blow something up. But as the Humvee went up in a fiery blast that had probably been heard from miles around, the two couldn't have been more thankful.<p>

Joel and Devin waited until the fireflies began to come pouring out before the moved again. The Palace Station was connected to the parking garage through the elevator shaft. Joel moved over to it and peered inside. It was eight stories down. Devin slung the rifle over his shoulder and began on the way down. Joel followed slowly, having to move slower due to the fact that he only had one full arm left.

When they got to the bottom, Joel pulled his 9mm from his waistband and took point. He scanned the casino, listening carefully. He could hear the fireflies moving around outside. There were also plenty inside, Joel looked back at Devin. "Been here once before, gonna' have to go through the casino to get to where I'm sure they're keeping Ellie."

"And where is that?"

"The hotel. Only way there is the stairwell or the elevator, both are probably guarded." Devin nodded his head and let Joel lead the way. They moved slowly and quietly, only killing fireflies only when they absolutely had to. _This is goin' too well, somethin's gonna' go wrong. _The thought had just passed through his head, when Devin shouted. "Joel!" Devin knocked him out of the way and behind a slot machine as rounds ripped through the air where they had been. Joel tightened his grip on his 9mm, and nodded at Devin. "Keep me covered, I'm gonna' see if I can't get the angle on 'em." Devin nodded his head and shot off several rounds from the automatic rifle. There was a loud thump as one of the fireflies fell down, dead. Devin got back behind the slot machine and checked the magazine; there were twenty-five rounds left. Devin reloaded and fired some more, just missing one of the fireflies.

Meanwhile, Joel crept as fast as he could around, doing his best to keep out of their sight as he looked for an opening. As he moved slowly and quietly, he counted the number of fireflies firing at the slot machine Devin was currently hunkered behind. There seemed to be too goddamned many, at least eight or nine. He would have to be careful.

Joel waited until Devin had downed another firefly before he opened fire. His first shot went through a firefly's skull, his second grazed the ribcage of another. Joel heard the ringing in his ears from all of the loud gun blasts, and momentarily wondered if he would go deaf. Joel ducked down as several rounds flew past him. He and Devin were pinned down; Joel suddenly had a feeling that this could possibly be his end. More fireflies had shown up, and outnumbered them fourteen to two. Joel ejected his empty clip and slid in another one. He cocked the barrel back and rose, popping off two more rounds, killing another firefly.

Joel rose to take down more, but hesitated for a second as the rounds from a third gun took down three of the fireflies. Joel opened fire again after coming to the conclusion that whoever was taking out the fireflies was most likely on their side.

When the fireflies were all dead, Joel took a deep breath and clambered to his feet. He felt a small bit of pain in his back and let out a quiet groan. He popped his back and stepped out into the middle of the slaughtered fireflies, his pistol gripped tightly in his hand. Devin stood and grinned at him for a second, then looked past Joel and shook his head. "Well, looks like we don't have to worry about getting to the hotel anymore." Joel turned back and felt a grin grow across his face. It was Ellie, an automatic rifle (much like the one Devin had) in her hands. Her breathing was a bit heavy, but other than that, Joel didn't find any kind of physical damage. He held his arm out went to her. He wrapped his arm around her midsection, hugging her tightly. She hugged him back.

The sound of approaching feet stopped them. "Hey guys, I'd hate to interrupt, but we gotta' move." Devin said. Joel nodded his head and took point. "Let's move."

* * *

><p>Zack felt felt an almost physical weight lift off of his shoulders when he caught a glimpse of a flash of light from the parking garage across the parking lot. He exhaled loudly and stood straight. He moved quickly, climbing down the ladder and creeping across the street to the parking lot of a decrepit McDonalds. He stood their waiting, tapping his finger against the hunting rifle's strap. He crouched down and scrubbed his hands through his hair, and stayed still. He waited until the sound of approaching footsteps reached his ears before he looked up.<p>

Joel, Ellie and Devin stepped into the parking lot, and Joel glanced behind himself, towards the Palace Station. "We ain't gonna' have a whole lot of time before they're out lookin' for us, we gotta' move."

The walk back to their vehicles was silent. The four of them didn't talk much as they went; they were too busy doing the best they could to avoid firefly cells and packs of infected. When they got to the truck and chopper, Joel put the weapons into the bed of the truck with his pack and opened the door.

"You gonna' ride on the bike?" He asked Ellie. She nodded her head and Joel climbed into the truck. "If ya' feel like Ridin' in the truck, you let me know." Ellie nodded her head and climbed onto the back of the bike, wrapping her arms around Devin's midsection. "You alright?" Devin asked. Ellie shrugged.

"I'll be fine." Devin nodded and revved the engine before pulling back the throttle before starting down the road.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: What's happening with Tommy? What's going to happen to him, is he going to be able to hold off fireflies by himself? How is Joel going to react to that? What's in store for our favorite apocalypse survivors next? I suppose we'll find out soon enough.<strong>

**~Exangellion**


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12:

Alec led the fireflies quietly through the woods, towards the walls of Bertrand. It was a wonder how they had lasted this long, Alec felt that their defenses were extremely weak and easy to break through. And for him and the eight fireflies that were with him, it was easy to break in. Just a bit of sound made off to the side, and the ones watching the wall were kept busy long enough for them to get over the wall. It honestly amazed him.

_These people have had it too easy for far too long, _Alec thought. It would be a pleasure for him to put a damper on their plans. They moved quietly through town, Alec making sure they were constantly out of sight. They peeked in the windows of the houses, looking for the leader of the little community. Alec remembered him well; Tommy, the firefly deserter. The one who had left them in the dust back when Marlene had still been in control. Alec had always held a bit of loathing for the asshole, and it seemed sort of ironic to him that he would be the one to put him in binds before Beckie arrived.

Finding Tommy's house wasn't too difficult either, it was almost in the dead-center of town. Alec rolled his eyes at that. When he carefully raised his head and looked out of the window, he saw Tommy, a man with thick sandy blonde hair and a crossbow and two girls who seemed to be the same age as the subject-what had her name been? Eileen...no Ellie, it had been Ellie. Alec looked back at the fireflies positioned behind him, their weapons drawn.

"Alright, these fuckers ain't expecting an attack right in their dead center, so let's bust in there, subdue these assholes and hold 'em here. Beckie will be here later tonight-_definitely_ before the sun rises, and by the time they figure out what's going on, it'll be too late." The others nodded, and Alec drew his shotgun. "Let's do this." He crept to the front door, stood straight, and slammed a foot into it, knocking it open at once.

* * *

><p>Tommy, Chad, Angel and Lizzie spun towards the door almost in unison as the front door to Tommy's house was kicked open. The one who entered first carried a shotgun, and had it trained on the four of them. Chad, who was the closest, moved without thinking. His crossbow was slung over his shoulder, he drew it and trained it on the one holding the shotgun and wrapped his finger around the trigger, but the firefly was too fast.<p>

He pulled the trigger on the shotgun.

Blood sprayed from Chad's chest, shoulders and stomach as the pellet spread ripped through him. He was knocked off of his feet and fell onto his back, his chest heaving as his lungs struggled for air. Blood leaked and poured out of his mouth and a gurgle rose from his throat. Angel watched him for only a moment, before she let out a scream. In it, Tommy could hear the pain, agony and anger of loss. He moved to pull his gun, same as Angel and Lizzie, who had one strapped to her leg underneath her dress, but the firefly who'd shot Chad jumped forward, wrapped an arm around Angel's throat and held her against him. He gave his shotgun to another one of them and put a knife against Angel's throat.

"Drop your weapons, or the girl's going to be smiling out of her throat." Tommy's eyes flitted to Lizzie. She glanced back at him. Tommy brought his gaze back to the firefly and Angel. "Okay...Lizzie, put your weapon down...let the girl go." Tommy slowly bent forward and set the pistol down. The firefly grinned, and shoved Angel forward. She dropped down next to Chad and gently cradled his head. Tommy and Lizzie didn't fight as the fireflies approached them, put their hands behind their backs and cuffed them.

"The townspeople...there's a chance they heard your shotgun." Tommy said. "You're gonna' want to hightail it outta' here, they ain't gonna' let you do this." The firefly smiled again. "Yeah, they probably did...but we have the advantage. We have you hostage." Tommy didn't break his stare as he was dragged back into the living room and shoved onto one of the chairs in there.

* * *

><p>Alec looked at the girl as she cradled the dying man on the ground and told another one of the fireflies to watch her. "We ain't gonna' cuff her?" He asked. Alec shook his head. "She's broken, she isn't going to do shit."<p>

* * *

><p>Angel held Chad as he died. Chad, the only man, besides her actual father, that she had ever had as a parent. He'd basically raised her these last few years. At least he'd tried to anyway. But now she was holding his head in her arms as he slowly bled out on the floor of Tommy's kitchen. Chad looked at her, and a small smile split his bloodstained face. "Definitely...definitely not one of my finest moments...huh?" Angel couldn't help the sob that escaped her. He was trying to sound humorous, trying to keep her from crying. She felt one of his hands touch her back, and that smile slipped from his face.<p>

"They've...they've got me Angel..." He tried to swallow, but only succeeded in coughing up more blood. It felt as if Angel's heart was being ripped apart as she watched her guardian in the weakest place she'd ever seen him. "They...they want a fight Angel...they act like all they want is...is Ellie." More blood came up as Chad hacked and coughed, his lungs quickly loosing oxygen.

"But...but they...want to kill us all. If they didn't...they wouldn't be here now..." He managed to swallow. "They want a fight Angel...I want you to give them a war...You, and Joel and Ellie...and everyone else. You...you make sure that there isn't anything left standing." His chest hitched several times, and for a moment, Angel thought he was gone. But then he smiled again.

"You're grown up now...don't think you can't...you can't make it without me...because you can...Promise me you will..." She nodded her head when she found that she couldn't speak. "I...I love...I..." Chad's chest stopped moving, and he was gone. His eyes glazed over, his arm slumped to the ground and his head lolled to the side.

* * *

><p>Tommy's head swam as he tried to keep all of his thoughts together. From where he sat he could hear the sounds of Angel's sobs as she held Chad's dead body. Tommy hung his head for just a moment; Chad had been a good man, one that had done a lot for them over the years. It hurt to see him go like that.<p>

Tommy remembered the firefly who had killed Chad; he was one Tommy had worked with during his time with the fireflies, and the two of them had come to a head several times. Tommy had a feeling the firefly (Tommy took a second to remember that his name was Alec) had something bad in store for them.

Tommy glanced at Lizzie. She was sitting cross-legged on the chair they had sat her in and looked extremely calm, as if she were only watching a movie play out. Tommy watched her, and waited. Lizzie spoke in a whisper, but her tone was calm.

"We're handcuffed and outnumbered, but that doesn't mean we can't get out and kill every one of these fuckers." Tommy watched her. It was kind of scary, how peaceful she seemed to be.

_It's probably 'cause she knows we're gonna' die trying. _Tommy nodded his head and looked at the firefly who was on guard, watching them. He wasn't doing it very closely, he was more occupied with carving something into the side of his automatic rifle. Tommy couldn't believe how calm he was, how sure they were with their plan. Tommy glanced back at Lizzie.

"They probably got more guys on the way, they aren't stupid enough to send just...seven or eight men out to take down an entire community." Lizzie nodded. "And just like last time, we'll give 'em a run for their money." Tommy thought for a moment.

"You got any ideas on how we're gettin' out of these cuffs?" A small grin formed on Lizzie's face. "I'll leave that one to you." Tommy sighed and thought for just a moment. A memory suddenly found it's way to the front of his mind. It had been a year after the outbreak, before Joel had gotten himself involved with the hunters. The two of them had been kidnapped by a bunch of bandits. Tommy remembered how they had been handcuffed and locked in the basement of some house. And he remembered how Joel had gotten himself out of the cuffs; Tommy would just have to do the same thing.

Tommy pressed his wrist hard against the cold mete land twisted. There was no pain, or stinging, and Tommy kept on twisting his wrist against the cuffs cold steel. He twisted and rubbed his wrist against the steel for what felt like hours.

There was a sharp stinging in his wrist, followed by a warm, oozing, wet sensation. Tommy peered over his shoulder at his right wrist and nodded in satisfaction. He had broke the skin and blood slowly trickled down his hand before dripping onto the chair. Tommy rubbed the cut against the metal and grimaced at the sharp pain. The wound opened more and the slow oozing of blood became a steady trickle. Tommy bit his tongue as he harshly rubbed the wound against the steel some more, widening the wound and making a slow flow of blood.

He began to work his wrist in the cuff again. Slowly, he lubricated his hand with the crimson liquid. Once he was sure that his hand was nice and slick, he began the slow process of pulling his hand from the cuff.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I'm going to leave you there with a cliffhanger, I know a dick move, but whatever. What did you think? Are you mad at me for killing Chad, or are you sad about it? Is Angel going to be able to pull through? Are Tommy and Lizzie going to be able to take on the fireflies? Is Angel going to help take them out? You'll see soon enough, see ya' later.<strong>

**~Exangellion**


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13:

_Something's wrong, _Joel thought. There was something wrong back home, he could feel it. He glanced at Zack out of the corner of his eyes for just a second before returning his gaze to the road, and Devin and Ellie, driving ahead of them on the motorcycle. Joel was only able to watch the road for a few moments before he found himself looking at the sky. It was dark again, and the stars were out in numbers. For some odd reason, Joel attempted to coint them, without any success.

Joel looked back to the road and hit the breaks. Devin had stopped the motorcycle and was motioning for Joel to get out. Joel opened the door and climbed out, stretching. They had been on the road for hours; he was stiff as a piece of wood.

"What is it?" He asked as he approached the Devin and Ellie, hearing Zack climb out of the truck behind him. "Listen." Devin said quietly. Joel perked his ears and listened. It was distant, but he could hear the sound of conversation. Joel wasn't able to pick up much, but from what he heard, it was easy to tell that whoever was talking was a firefly. Joel figured they were conversing about Ellie.

"How far are we from town?" He whispered. Devin looked around himself and thought about it for just a moment. "Maybe three or four miles." Joel cursed under his breath and looked between the four of them. If he really was hearing fireflies, then they were way too close to town for his liking. He looked at Ellie, and she immediately understood.

"We've gotta' take care of them." As much as Joel wanted to go straight home and lie down to get some much deserved rest, he knew she was absolutely right. They couldn't leave several stray fireflies out there so close to town. Joel motioned to Zack. "C'mon, I'll take point. Devin, you take the rear." They moved through the trees without speaking, just following the sounds of the fireflies' voices. For several minutes, Joel thought they might've strayed off of the path; but then he heard the sounds of the fireflies' conversation and he knew that they were getting close.

It took several more minutes, but soon they came to a dirt path that cut through the trees and led back to the road. There were two pickup trucks parked on the dirt road; the fireflies stood by them, utterly relaxed. Joel looked at Ellie, then Devin, then Zack. "There's only two of 'em, we should be able to ambush them easily." Zack nodded first. "Yeah...I mean, it isn't like we have any better ideas." Ellie and Devin nodded in unison. Devin pulled his .357, and Ellie pulled her Walther. Joel drew his pistol and trained it on the fireflies before stepping out quickly onto the dirt road.

One of them tried to go for the holster on his hip. Joel pulled the trigger and the bullet shot through the firefly's forearm, splashing blood against the ground. Joel aimed his pistol at the other firefly. "You even _think _about reachin' for your gun and I'll blow your head off." Joel growled it quietly. The firefly slowly raised his hands and looked nervously at his comrade, who gripped his arm tightly and groaned through clenched teeth.

"What are you doin' this far from Vegas?" Joel asked, using the same tone of voice. When he didn't get an answer, Joel tightened his finger around the trigger and stepped forward. "You ain't in a position to think about it." The firefly swallowed. "Our...our leader, she ordered us to come here an-and make sure there...make sure there wasn't anyone else to screw with us..." Joel glanced at Ellie.

"I'll take it you weren't the only ones who came?" The firefly nodded. "The others...they're already inside of your town." Joel felt his grip tighten around the pistol. If the fireflies were already inside of Bertrand, there was a possibility that Tommy was-

Joel felt that old rage wash over him and he saw red. He pulled the trigger twice, one bullet for each firefly. He didn't miss Devin and Zack's involuntary step back. Joel sighed heavily. Even after living with him for five years, Devin could still get startled by Joel's violence. He honestly wasn't surprised that Zack had been frightened; it would have been a shock if he hadn't.

Devin exhaled loudly and looked at Joel. "We've got to get back to town, _now." _Joel nodded his head.

"MY thoughts exactly." He shoved his pistol back into his waistband and turned before hurrying back in the direction of the street. They needed to get to Bertrand; he needed to get back to Tommy before something happened to him. Joel didn't know what he would do if something happened to Tommy.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Hey, sorry about the short length of this chapter, things in my real life are cominng up. But what did you think? Are you excited for more? I am! But anyway, that doesn't matter. What's happening with Tommy? Are things going well in town? How bad is Joel going to flip? We'll find out next time. Also, I've finished this before midnight, so I suppose I should say Merry Christmas, so: Merry Christmas.<strong>

**~Exangellion**


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14:

Tommy's hand slowly slid out of the handcuff; pain coursing through his wrist with every move he made. Blood oozed over his hand and the cuff and dripped onto the couch he was sitting on. He grimaced, quickly covering it up with a somewhat neutral expression. He glanced at Lizzie, who still looked as calm as someone walking to the store would. Tommy tugged again and stifled a shout of pain as his hand slid out of the cuffs and was free. He looked at Lizzie again. She made eye contact and he gave an imperceptible nod. She let out another grin and motioned to the firefly lazily standing guard.

Tommy flexed his wrist and slowly clambered to his feet. The firefly did not notice Tommy standing, not until Tommy had slammed into him and had gotten the gun from his holster. Tommy wrapped his left arm around the firefly's neck and held the pistol against his temple with his right hand. Tommy had to hold the weapon in an especially tight grip; blood soaked his hand and wrist.

The other fireflies heard and hurried into the room. Tommy instinctively stepped in front of Lizzie, dragging the firefly with him. Alec was the first into the room; when he saw Tommy holding the firefly, he stopped and smirked.

"Tommy, I should have known you'd find some way to get on my nerves." He took a step forward, causing Tommy to tighten his grip on the firefly he was holding. "Take one more step and I'll blow his fuckin' brains out." He said. Alec stopped, never breaking eye contact. "I wouldn't be surprised." Tommy detected the sarcasm dripping from Alec's voice. Tommy had to act fast, before Alec decided to start a fight that Tommy and Lizzie would most likely not walk away from.

"Here's how this thing's gonna' play out." Tommy said, his voice warranting no argument. "You and yer fireflies are gonna' walk out that door and leave. No one'll get hurt and you can have your buddy back." Alec shook his head, that grin returning to his face. "You and I both know I'm not going to disobey our leader's orders, we're staying here until she and the team that comes with her gets here. If you and this town wants to fight us again...so be it." Tommy swallowed. He looked at the...Tommy counted eight including Alec, fireflies standing with weapons trained on them.

Alec seemed to remember something. He turned to one of the others and said; "Bring that other girl in here." Tommy's blood ran cold. _Angel! How did I forget Angel?_ Acting fast, Tommy pulled the trigger of the gun, killing the firefly that he was holding. He shot the firefly that had moved to go get Angel. He threw the body of the dead firefly at Alec, spun around, grabbed Lizzie and dove behind the chair she was on, pulling her with him. Bullets ripped through the air and the sound was almost deafening in the enclosed space. If the citizens of Bertrand hadn't heard the shotgun blast from almost an hour ago, they would definitely hear this.

Lizzie looked at Tommy's hand calmly. "That looks like it hurts," she said in a peaceful voice. She slowly peaked around the couch, trying to keep from getting her head blown off. "You'd better hurry, it's only going to take them a second to decide to come and grab us." She said. Tommy nodded. He leaned around the chair and popped off several rounds. One firefly fell and two others jumped out of the way. Alec shook his head and began to quickly advance on the chair. "This is fucking _ridiculous!" _Tommy looked at Lizzie for a split second. He jumped from behind the chair and hurried over to the couch he'd been sitting on. Alec caught sight of this movement and fired at Tommy, just barely missing him by a fraction of an inch.

_This is so fucked! _Tommy thought. He hurried over to the other side of the couch, silently trying to will Angel to help out, to stop grieving, even for a moment, to take at least one shot. But almost immediately he stopped. He knew she would, he knew that she was biding her time, she wasn't an idiot.

* * *

><p>The gunshots had scared the shit out of Angel. She looked up and saw the beginning of a firefight play out in the sitting room. She decided now would be the time to move. The entire time she'd been kneeling next to Chad's dead body, she'd been trying to figure out a way to kill those firefly motherfuckers and serve some serious justice.<p>

Almost silently, Angel crept down the hallway, to the bedroom that the fireflies had been in. She slid in through the door, and straightened. There on the bed was Angel's and Lizzie's pistol, Lizzie's knife, Chad's crossbow and Tommy's rifle. Angel holstered her pistol and picked up Chad's crossbow. She pulled the string (one-fifty weight) back and loaded an arrow before stepping back out into the hallway. She moved quickly back to the living room, just in time to see Tommy move from behind a chair, to the couch where he had been sitting. Gunfire was sent his way, and he didn't move from behind the couch.

Angel took aim with her crossbow, aiming at one of the fireflies, and pulling the trigger. The arrow shot quickly through the air and stabbed him through the back before protruding from his stomach in a spray of blood. He let out a cry, lurched, and fell to the floor dead. The fireflies' attention was momentarily drawn to her. She moved behind the small section of wall that made up the right side of the archway that led from the kitchen to the living room. She dropped the crossbow and drew her pistol. She took a deep breath before stepping out from behind the wall and opening fire.

* * *

><p>Joel got out of the truck and ran down the street. He, Ellie, Devin and Zack had gotten back to Bertrand five minutes earlier. Joel and Devin had been on their way to dropping their vehicles off, when gunshots had gone off. And to Joel it sounded as if the gunshots were coming from Tommy's. Behind himself, Joel could hear Ellie and Devin and Zack following, but that didn't matter at the moment. It would probably be better if there were more going in there anyway.<p>

People in their houses began to step outside, preparing for some kind of attack. All heads turned in the direction of Tommy's. Joel didn't know if anyone was following him; that didn't matter. Joel drew his pistol when he reached Tommy's house. He ran to the front door, slowed a tiny bit and slammed a foot into it. The wood splintered as the door was knocked open. Joel stepped inside and took aim. There were five fireflies in the living room. Joel didn't need to know anything else. He opened fire, and two dropped dead.

Bullets from Tommy's gun ripped through the air as well, killing another one. The fireflies were down to two. The bigger one of them realized quickly that he was outnumbered. He looked at Joel and some small bit of surprise flashed across his face. Joel figured the firefly had expected him to be dead by this time. Without taking any other shot, he ran at one of the windows in the living room and jumped through the glass, shattering it and leaving his companion behind. Joel didn't give him any time to do anything as he pulled the trigger and killed him.

He saw Tommy stand, breathing deeply, a pistol clutched in his bloodstained right hand. There was a large wound on his wrist; handcuffs dangled from his left hand.

"We gotta' follow him." Joel said, making for the front door to give chase. Tommy stopped him by shaking his head. "He's only one man. He an' his buddies had me hostage, they had stood a chance then, he don't stand a chance now, and he knows it." Seeing the doubt upon Joel's face, Tommy quickly added; "Trust me Joel, I remember him from my time with the fireflies. Without a bunch of guys to back him up, Alec's probably the biggest fuckin' wuss you'll ever meet."

Joel looked around at the carnage that was Tommy's kitchen and living room. Blood stained the floor and some parts of the walls; the latter was pockmarked with bullet holes. Joel moved around the kitchen counter, and stopped at the sight on the ground: a bloody, lifeless Chad. He took a step back and looked away with a grimace on his face. He looked up at Angel, who he had seen taking cover and felt a wave of sympathy for the girl. Devin shook his head at the sight of Chad's corpse and gripped a bit of his hair in his hands. "You gotta' be fucking kidding me," he heard Ellie mutter.

"Joel." Joel looked at Tommy, who was working on the lock of his handcuff with a knife. Lizzie sat next to him and looked as if she had just gotten home from a movie theater. "Yeah?" Joel moved over and sat down next to Lizzie, motioning to Devin for a knife before going to work on her cuffs. "Alec-the firefly, he said somethin' about their leader comin' here." Joel's head shot up to look at Tommy. He felt a small amount of dread fill his stomach at those words. He was suddenly completely aware of how exhausted he was.

"We'll be ready for anythin' else they throw at us little brother." Joel said calmly. Tommy only nodded his head as he finished working on the handcuff.

"Well, whatever you say brother. We're gonna' need more people on watch," he paused and looked Joel over. "But first, I think you need to get some rest." Despite the situation, Joel felt a small chuckle rise in his throat. "Now that's somethin' I agree with little brother."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So, now we're just waiting for more fireflies to show up at their door. What did y'all think? Is Joel going to be ready to take on the fireflies...again? How is our favorite group of survivors going to do in yet another battle against the fireflies? What other stuff is going to happen within the walls of Bertrand before that? I suppose we'll all find out later.<strong>

**~Exangellion**


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15:

_Why does it gotta' start getting cold now?_ Devin thought. He and Ellie sat on the wall, watching the road carefully. Joel and Tommy had discussed it momentarily, and had decided to enlarge the number of people who had watch duty for the next couple of days. Joel hadn't exactly been for Ellie on watch, seeing as how she was what the fireflies wanted. But Ellie had bothered him about it until he had agreed to let her and Devin watch the wall. Now they sat in a calm silence, just enjoying each other's company.

"You okay?" Ellie asked with a chuckle. Devin looked at her and quirked an eyebrow.

"You're shaking...a lot." Devin shrugged his shoulders.

"It just got so damn cold so fast." Ellie chuckled and nodded her head. "We've been here for five years, get used to it, dude."

"I just wish I had a heavier coat."

"That's your fault dude." Devin laughed, and they once again fell into a peaceful silence. Ellie watched Devin as they sat, watching as he shifted around, occasionally peering over the wall to see if there was any movement. Several times, they would hear the screech of some stray infected but that was it. The infected wasn't much of a shock, the sounds of the gunfire had drawn several of them to the wall, but they had easily been taken care of.

"How long have we been out here?" Ellie asked. Devin looked up at the dark sky for several minutes before looking back at Ellie and shrugging his shoulders.

"Don't know, can't see the moon." Ellie rolled her eyes.

"Getting bored?" Devin asked with a smirk. Ellie shook her head.

"No, just wondering." Ellie gazed into Devin's eye, and traced the scar running over it. That scar had been there ever since the two of them had met.

"What happened here?" Ellie asked, pointing to her own left eye to indicate what she was talking about. Devin visibly stiffened, and he ran a hand down the scar. "I've never told you about that?" He asked, his brows furrowing. Ellie shook her head. Devin seemed to consider it for a moment before speaking.

"I, uh, got it when my parents died." He said, looking away for a moment. "I haven't told you about _that _either, huh?" Ellie shook her head again.

"You only told me that they died before you found Jackson." Devin nodded his head reluctantly.

"Yeah...we had it pretty bad." He said in a light tone. Ellie didn't speak, she could tell that Devin was somewhere else, probably remembering. He cleared his throat.

"I mean, I went to sleep one night, and when I woke up, I was in some...cellar or something. Me, my uncle, parents and sister. We were...kidnapped, captured, whatever you wanna' call it." Devin strayed off again, biting his lower lip for a moment.

"They raped my mom...like, on a daily basis. They'd drag her out and, and you could hear her screaming. I had to cover my sister's ears. And then, one day they took her out and never brought her back. I...I have no idea what they did to her." Devin took a deep breath and exhaled loudly.

"I guess that was when they decided they were done with us. They took my dad, killed him too, I guess. My uncle and I decided it was time we get the fuck out of there. I don't even remember how we got out of that cellar. We were almost out...so damn close...but one of the fuckers caught us, gave me this with a piece of broken glass." He pointed to the scar that ran over his eye.

"Same one who cut me, he...he had a gun on him too. Got my sister with that. Can't remember a whole lot of what happened after that. I know I killed _him. _I have no idea what happened to my uncle." He sighed.

"I've told you what happened after that; I just kept walking, found Jackson, met you six months later. The rest's history." They both fell into a comfortable silence. Ellie scanned her eyes over Devin. He seemed to have...deflated in a sense. He stared out at the road and only blinked ever now and then. Ellie carefully scooted closer and wrapped an arm around Devin's shoulders. Devin grinned and looked at her.

"We're really something, aren't we?" Ellie nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, we're definitely something."

* * *

><p>Joel sat next to Tommy on the couch and the both of them stared at the opposite wall. Neither of them spoke, the silence spoke volumes. Every now and then, Joel would spare a glance at Tommy and eye him carefully. But other than that, he stayed quiet as well. Only ten minutes earlier they had gotten back from the small cemetery the town had. They had buried Chad and had did the best the could with a funeral service of some sort. But really, Joel, Tommy, Ellie and the others really just paid their silent respects next to the mound of dirt that covered Chad's grave.<p>

Joel felt a spark of anger. _Those fuckin' fireflies_, he thought. They had come here in the middle of the night, killed their friend and taken his brother and two others he knew well into captivity in their own home. And now, according to what Tommy could gather from what was said by the fireflies, there were more on the way. Joel shook his head and sighed, resting his head in his hand. Tommy looked at him and mirrored his sigh.

"This ain't gonna' be good for the town." Tommy said suddenly. Joel inspected him for a few moments. When Tommy didn't elaborate further, Joel cleared his throat and said; "What's that supposed to-"

"People aren't exactly going to feel safe now that they know how easily...what? Eight fireflies got inside of the walls. And how long were they here without anyone noticing?" Joel nodded, immediately understanding where Tommy was coming from. "D'ya think people are gonna' start considerin' taking the risk of trying to find somewhere else to live?" Tommy shrugged his shoulders and returned his gaze back to the wall.

"I don't got a fuckin' clue. Only thing I care about right now is gettin' rid of the immediate threat. Then we can deal with all of the other stuff." Joel nodded in silent agreement and the two brothers went quiet once more. Joel leaned forward and picked his pack up off of the floor by his leg. He put it on his lap and opened it before producing one of the two Molotov cocktails he had stashed inside of it. He set the backpack on the floor, yanked the cloth out of the bottle using his teeth and took a long drink from it.

Joel offered the bottle to Tommy, who took it after a moment's thought and had a long pull from it as well. He handed the bottle back to Joel and leaned back.

"Well, we'd better make sure we're ready. It sounded like there might be a lot of fireflies comin' our direction. And if there is, I don't exactly fancy being caught off guard again."

"You got a point." The two stayed still a moment longer before climbing to their feet at the same time. Joel followed Tommy to the spare room where he kept any spare weapons brought in by runs.

"I'll radio Dante, see if he wants to start gettin' people together, we're gonna' need a good amount of fighters to take on the fireflies."

* * *

><p>Beckie stopped the truck she was driving and stared at the road in front of her. Light from the newly risen sun showed her the form of Alec trudging quickly down the side of the road, his pack slung over his shoulders, his shotgun in both hands. Beckie suppressed a growl and opened the door before climbing out. She signaled for the four other trucks to wait before making her way quickly to Alec.<p>

Upon seeing her, he seemed to stiffen slightly.

"What the fuck's going on?" Beckie asked in a cold voice. Alec swallowed and looked at the road behind himself.

"we didn't exactly fare very well. The girl's guardian-Joel, he showed up. I just barely got out of there."

"And the others?" Alec gave his head a small shake. Beckie only stared him down. Alec did his best to keep his eyes trained on her as well.

"So I'll take it they know we're coming?" When Alec nodded his head, she scoffed and shook her head before turning and making her way back to her truck. "Great, now we're going to have to stop and make more preparations, help the plan adapt to the situation before continuing on." She heard the small noise Alec made, but only continued on.

"Are you kidding me?" It was the sound of his defiant voice that caused her to stop. She let her hand easily rest against the butt of her pistol that hung from the Sam Browne belt strapped around her thighs. She turned back to Alec and gave him an icy stare. This didn't seem to phase him. He took two steps forward. "I told you back in Vegas, it probably wasn't a good idea to send people out there, those people are deadly." Beckie didn't speak, only stared.

"I don't know why you're so obsessed on that little bitch that's...immune, or whatever, but let me tell you something, I am not-" Alec's voice stopped cold in his throat. Beckie had taken several steps forward, so that they were only inches apart, drew her pistol and stuck the barrel up against his chin in one swift movement.

"I was not asking you if we should stop and make adjustments to the plan. It was not a question, it was an order. And you follow orders. _Do I make myself clear?_" Alec swallowed dryly and nodded his head. With a small smile, Beckie re-holstered her pistol and turned once again. "Good, now come on. We've got to get working fast, if we don't have the girl when we return to Vegas, it will be you that suffers."

* * *

><p>Joel opened the front door to the house and stepped inside. He shrugged off his pack and walked quickly down the hallway to the bedroom. He peeked in to see Ellie and Devin asleep on one mattress, Zack snoring softly in his sleeping bag, and Angel sitting with her back against the wall, her legs bent up, her chin resting on her knees.<p>

Not for the first time, Joel found himself in what he considered to be a somewhat uncomfortable position. He had never been any good in the area of showing compassion, but he couldn't help but feel like he needed to show the girl at least a bit of care. God knew she needed it. She needed something to motivate her for the fight that was sure to show up at their front door very soon.

Joel walked across the room and slowly eased himself down into a sitting position next to Angel. He looked at her, and maybe for the first time he realized that the two of them had never really been all that close. They'd had plenty of close calls together, but Joel wasn't sure if they had ever just talked, ever.

"You okay kid?" He asked quietly. Angel sniffled and shrugged her shoulders, not looking at Joel. He reached up and scratched at the back of his neck. "You know..." He trailed off momentarily. What was he supposed to say? Sorry about your father figure dying, that's a tough deal? No, that kind of thing might have worked with people like Bill, but Joel knew he couldn't just say that to her. A memory from Joel's childhood popped into his head, one that he never really liked to think about. But he figured he might as well talk about it with Angel. Maybe it would help.

"You know...I remember, when I was a kid, Tommy and I, we'd wait every day for our dad to get home." Angel looked up at him, her brows furrowed, and Joel winced inward at her bloodshot eyes and swollen eyelids. "Everyday, he'd come home and we'd be waitin' on the porch for him. Everyday he'd come home and meet us on the porch. And then one day...he didn't. Found out a few years later that he'd been murdered in the parking lot of the store he'd worked at." He saw Angel's eyes widen a bit.

"He was murdered?" Joel nodded his head. "Shot by someone lookin' to take his money. Ta' be totally honest, I can't remember if they ever caught the killer or not." He eyed Angel a moment more before saying; "Just thought I'd let you know that...if ya' ever need someone to talk to, you can talk to me." And then he kept his mouth shut, afraid he'd end up saying the wrong thing.

And then Angel surprised him. She leaned over and rested her head on his shoulder. Joel almost stiffened at the contact from her. He almost did, but didn't. Instead, he slowly snaked an arm around her shoulders. They sat like that for awhile before Joel moved again.

"I'd hate to do anythin' and interrupt the peace, but we gotta' wake the others up. We've got to be ready when the fireflies show up." Angel nodded and slowly climbed to her feet with Joel. Joel slowly walked over to Ellie and Devin's mattress, but Angel stopped him by touching his arm. Joel looked at her quietly.

"Thanks." She said. Joel nodded his head. "No problem, but let's get movin'." She nodded and Joel gently shook Ellie's shoulder stirring her.

A cold knot of dread suddenly filled Joel's stomach. He wasn't sure where the feeling came from, but it was strong. He felt as if he were going to walk straight into a hurricane, he felt as if the end of the road was drawing near. Shaking the thought off, he shook Ellie a little harder, waking her up before preparing for what he was sure to be a bloody confrontation.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16:

Alec sat on the hood of the truck, his shotgun resting in his lap. Beckie approached him and Alec sighed, knowing what was coming.

"Okay, let's go-"

"Over the plan one more time." He finished for her with a roll of his eyes. Beckie's jaw stiffened, and Alec wondered of she would punch him in the face. She'd done worse to people who had done far less to her.

"Knowing this guy-the girl's guardian, he'll probably try and take out the fireflies based in Vegas if he survives the attack-which he should. He'll go to Vegas with the girl and attempt to eradicate us. But I'm going to be waiting in a truck on a dirt road, just behind the tree line two hundred yards East of the place. You give him a run for his money, fall back and then wait for him to go running off to Vegas, then I'll trail him back. I'll get the girl and kill him quickly."

Alec leaned back, considering the plan. "Well, how many people's lives do you think you're putting on the line?" He asked after a moment.

"They are expendable." She growled. Alec sighed. "As long as I get to take out the guardian's brother, Tommy." Beckie have him a sinister smile and gave him her consent. Alec smiled back.

* * *

><p>With a shrug of his shoulders, Joel pulled his coat tighter around himself. It was getting real cold real fast, snow would be falling soon. Joel looked up at the overcast sky and sighed; it looked like rain. It was quiet too, the birds that were usually in the area had gone south for the winter, and the silence-for some reason-didn't bode well with Joel.<p>

There was a loud exhale of air next to him and he looked over to his right. Devin and Ellie, Zack and Angel sat on his right. Devin exhaled loudly a second time.

"You alright?"

"Just peachy." His voice came out harsh, and he sighed. "Sorry, just stressed, you know?" Joel nodded his head.

"This is the worst part."

"The waiting." Joel nodded his agreement and fell back into silence. He observed the others for a few moments. Devin may have been stressed, but he looked calm enough. Only his tightened jaw and the look in his eye told Joel that he was on the verge of a panic attack. The others had similar grave expressions on their face. Same went with Tommy and Dante. It was Lizzie that Joel worried about.

In the few months that Joel had known her, the only emotions she seemed to portray were happiness, and peace. She was always eerily calm, even when in the middle of a firefight, or while killing infected. The girl never ever showed any sign of worry or fear. It made Joel wonder about her mental health. Joel nudged Devin with his elbow, deciding to ask about it.

"You said you knew her back in the Detroit QZ?" Joel asked, motioning his head over to Lizzie. Devin nodded his head.

"Yeah, believe me man, she was always like that." Devin said, immediately understanding what Joel wanted to do. "Only thing she ever told me was that she had to kill a lot of people to get to someplace safe...like a lot I guess. Also said she wouldn't be afraid to kill me. I was kind of on her bad side at the time." Joel couldn't help but chuckle. "I'd hate to wonder what you did to be on her bad side."

"I asked her out." Joel quirked an eyebrow. Devin shrugged. "To be completely honest, I think she's partial to women, but it doesn't really matter to me, that's her choice." Joel nodded his head and brought his attention back to the road. Silently, Joel went over their strategy one last time. There were plenty of people stationed on each wall, watching the surrounding area carefully. If the fireflies were to show at any given time, they would send out a signal (from what Joel gathered, someone on each wall had a flare gun) and they would try to give the fireflies a reason to retreat, to get the fuck out of dodge before every last one of them was dead.

What Joel hadn't told anyone yet-he honestly didn't plan on doing so-was that he was planning to take the fireflies out at their source. Once they went running, which Joel was somewhat sure would happen, he was going to go back down to Vegas and take them out. He wasn't exactly sure how he was going to do it exactly. He just wanted to get these fuckers out of their lives entirely.

"I hear something," Tommy's voice came out hoarse, and Joel heard him clear his throat. Joel looked at Ellie and Devin out of the corner of his eye. They were tensed, prepared for a fight. He hard Zack loading up his rifle and Angel pulling the string of the crossbow back. Joel watched the road, his grip on his 9mm tightening a bit.

And then they came into sight; three trucks. Joel looked over at Tommy, and whispered; "You're gonna' have to make the signal." Tommy nodded.

"Just wait a minute." Joel complied and let his vision go back to the road. The trucks pulled to a stop, twenty feet in front of the wall. The driver's side door opened and Alec stepped out. He reached into the truck and produced a high-powered rifle. Joel almost didn't recognize what was happening in time. Alec drew up his rifle, looked through the scope and curled a finger around the trigger. He had applied a small bit of pressure when-

"Get down!" Joel's shout was loud. He shoved Ellie and Devin down, ducking just in time himself. The bullet ripped thhrough the empty air, where Devin had stoood only moments before.

"Shit," Joel heard Ellie mutter. The firefly, Alec shouted something like: "Weapons free!" And then Joel felt a kind of anger he hadn't felt in years. It was almost like a blind rage, and all of his focus went to the fireflies, and how he was going to kill every last one of them.

* * *

><p>Tommy's ears rang loudly as he shot off several rounds from his rifle, taking out several fireflies before he jumped down and began to reload quickly. The action was cut short as something went soaring over the wall and landing on the platform beside him. Tommy only had a few seconds to register what it was before he moved. There was a loud bang, and the next thing Tommy was aware of was the sharp, excruciating pain before he slipped into unconsciousness.<p>

The explosion nearly sent Joel tumbling. His head shot in the direction of the sound and felt his blood run cold. Tommy lie on the ground near the base of the wall, unconscious, with blood oozing from his chest.

The fireflies were throwing explosives. Where they got them, Joel didn't know and he didn't care. He needed to move quickly.

"We need to get off the wall!" He shouted to Ellie and Devin over the blasts of gunfire. Devin didn't speak, just smacked Zack's arm and motioned for him and Angel to follow before jumping from the platform. Joel took aim again and fired, his shots taking out another firefly.

"Joel, c'mon!" He heard Ellie shout from the base of the wall. He fired again before turning and jumping down.

Joel landed and straightened, only to almost be knocked off of his feet again. There was an extra loud explosion as a part of the wall was blown open by one of the explosives.

"Joel, we've got to get back." It was Ellie. Joel looked over, in Tommy's direction. He couldn't leave him there, he needed to get him first. Devin saw Joel's expression and shook his head.

"He'll be alright, he wouldn't want you to get yourself killed." Devin gripped Joel by the sleeve of his jacket and pulled him along before he had any time to argue.

* * *

><p>Alec looked at the firefly standing close to him and spoke. "Wait another few minutes, then fall back, but make sure that they think they're winning first." He began to jog in the direction of the wall.<p>

"We should just finish them off! The firefly countered. "No! Stick to the plan." Alec called back before getting to the wall and climbing through the hole that had been made, he wanted to pay Tommy a little visit, show him what happened when you defied the fireflies before he had to leave.

* * *

><p>"Wakey, wakey." The voice brought Tommy from the darkness he was in and he was suddenly being dragged to his feet. Tommy's eyes fluttered open, only for him to be met with a fist to his face. Tommy fell to the ground, and gritted his teeth, blighting back the pain in his chest. He looked down at it; what appeared to be the blade from a pair of scissors was sticking out of his chest.<p>

_Oh, I'm in trouble, _Tommy thought. Alec gripped him by the front of his shirt and landed another hit to Tommy's head, letting him fall to the ground.

"You fucked up real bad," Tommy tried to clamber to his feet, but he was kicked onto his back, and then Alec was kneeling over him. From a sheath strapped around his leg, Alec drew a hunting knife, and gripped Tommy's forearm. Tommy struggled and fought, but Alec had the advantage.

Alec brought the knife down and the blade sunk into Tommy's left hand. Hr let out a scream, and Alec grinned maniacally back. Tommy should've known Alec would torture him if he ever had the chance; the fucker could hold a grudge. Tommy tried to think of a way he could get Alec. Before Alec got him.

An that was when his eyes drifted to his chest; to the blade sticking out of it. Without thinking, Tommy smashed his forehead into Alec's nose. Alec's head rocked back and his grip slipped off of Tommy's arms. Tommy gripped the blade with his right hand and pulled it out of his chest with a scream. Before Alec could react, the blade sunk into his shoulder.

"Fuck!" He rolled off of Tommy, gripping his shoulder. Tommy reached over to his left hand and pulled the knife from his hand, he quickly got up and stood over Alec.

He had obviously not expected this to happen; the look of pure shock on his face was almost hilarious. Tommy acted quickly, bringing the knife down and burying it in Alec's throat.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Well, that didn't work out for Alec very well. But what will be happening next? Joel is going out to Vegas so he can take the fireflies out at the source; it seems that he is playing right into Beckie's plan. Next time we'll see what fate awaits our beloved survivors and hopefully the end to the fireflies' psycho bitch leader. <strong>

**~Exangellion**


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17:

The silence that followed was one of the loudest things Joel had heard in a long time. He knew he needed to move quickly, before any gathering infected hindered his progress. He needed to get in a vehicle and get to Vegas before the retreating fireflies made it, the less he had to deal with when he got there, the better.

When the fireflies began to retreat, and the others were busy with their own amounts of relief, Joel slipped off. He hoped they hadn't noticed his missing presence yet, he didn't need any of them trying to get involved with this, if he were taken down, he didn't want Ellie to go down with him; he needed to ensure her safety at any cost.

Joel hurried as quietly as he could to Tommy's place. His younger brother had a truck parked in the garage (it was the same one he had used to get to Vegas the last time), and Joel was going to use it.

He was climbing into the driver's seat when the thought occurred to him. They would see him when he drove through whatever was left of the front gate. Joel sighed and shook his head; it didn't matter, he was going no matter anyone said.

He started the engine, and it's loud revving filled the garage. It was so loud that he almost didn't hear Zack as he called the older man's name.

"Joel!" Joel's gaze shot to where he stood on the other side of the truck. With a heavy sigh, Joel killed the engine and stared at Zack through the open window.

"What?"

"I know where you're going." Joel had figured as much, and he wasn't about to let some ex-firefly try and sabotage this. "Kid, if you even _think _about tellin' anyone, I swear-"

"And I want to come with you." Joel stopped speaking. To be completely honest, he hadn't been expecting that from Zack. As much as he liked the kid's bravery, he knew that he would have to say no.

"Kid, as much as I respect you for that, I can't let you come along. If even one hair on your head is touched, Angel will kill-"

"She already knows I'm going with you." Joel's brows furrowed. "And how did she know that?"

"Because I saw you sneaking off." Joel's head spun towards the garage door and he felt his heart sink. Ellie and Devin stood in the garage by the door.

"Did you seriously think I was going to let you go running off by yourself?"

"I was hopin' you wouldn't notice my bein' gone yet." Ellie sighed and rolled her eyes. "Well, you don't get a choice right now. If you're going to go after them, we're coming." Joel tried to open his mouth to argue, but Ellie cut him off.

"We aren't letting you do it alone." As much as Joel wanted Ellie to stay there in Bertrand, he couldn't help but feel a small bit of pride; the girl had courage. With a sigh, Joel reached over and opened the passenger side door.

"Get in." Ellie slid into the passenger seat, and Zack hopped into the bed of the truck. "Oh, and by the way Joel, Tommy's alive, Angel's keeping an eye on him." Joel felt a wave of relief wash over him as he started the engine once again. Devin climbed onto the motorcycle, parked next to the truck and kick started the engine.

"Let's move out!" He yelled, before pulling back on the throttle and driving out of the garage. Joel rolled his eyes and followed behind.

* * *

><p>Tommy sat as still as he could, letting Angel work silently on wrapping up his torso. He couldn't believe his luck; not only had a blade from the nail bomb they threw stab him, but he'd also been hit by tons of shrapnel, making the pain in his chest all that worse. His right cheek was bruised, and had swelled a bit. But the worst of his wounds had to be his hand. Alec's knife had gone through the whole damn thing; when Tommy held it up, he could look right through it, like a window.<p>

"Jesus christ," Angel muttered as she finished wrapping Tommy's chest and inspected his hand. Tommy nodded, and ignored the pain that swept through him when Angel gently picked up his hand.

"Yeah, it's pretty bad-ow!"

"Sorry." Angel pulled Tommy's bag over and opened it up before producing a bottle of alcohol. She handed it to him. "You should take a drink. This is gonna' hurt like a bitch." Tommy nodded his head and took a deep swig before handing it back to Angel and waiting. She took a deep breath, held Tommy's wrist tightly and poured a decent amount of alcohol onto it.

Tommy gritted his teeth, but was unable to keep the loud grunts of pain down. Angel stop and inspected the hole in Tommy's hand for a moment more before carefully wrapping it in the las of her gauze.

Tommy looked over her work and nodded. "Ya' did good, thank ya'." Angel shrugged her shoulders and packed her things back into her backpack.

"It was nothing." Tommy chuckled. "Give yourself some credit," Angel nodded. She looked around hers and Chad's house, now just hers, and let her gaze go back to Tommy.

"Do you need anything else?" Tommy shook his head and carefully rested his back against the rough fabric of the couch.

"I think putting my shirt on again would be all." Despite the situation, Angel let out a chuckle and picked it up off the floor before tossing it to Tommy. He carefully put it on and groaned at the stinging pain in his hand.

"Could you go get Joel for me?" Tommy asked, and Angel noticeably stiffened on her way to the kitchen. Tommy saw this and felt his muscles tense up.

"What?" Angel swallowed. "He's uh...not here?"

"Not here? Where did he go?" Angel stopped again, and seemed to consider her answer carefully. "He's...taking care of some unfinished business." If Tommy's muscles could tense up any more than they had, they did. He felt the beginning of dread sweep over him; Joel was going to try and take on the fireflies by himself? What kind of ridiculous idea was that?

Tommy quickly got to his feet, hissing at the pain in his chest and picked up his pack and slung it over his shoulder before going to the door.

"Where are you going?"

"Ta' save my brother's ass."

"You can't go getting into another fight right now." Tommy turned around to face Angel, and she saw a fiery glint in his eyes, the one he shared with Joel.

"I ain't askin'." Angel huffed and picked up her backpack and Chad's crossbow, ignoring the tug she felt in her heart at the sight of it.

"Let's get going." Tommy grinned and nodded. "I'm sure we've got somethin' we can ride in." Angel shook her head as the two of them began down the road.

"You and Joel are like family and all, but I swear, the two of you always turn hay into shit when you're together, and you're both stubborn as fuck." Tommy smirked.

"That's always run in the family."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: We're getting pretty close to the end; by that, I mean shit's about to hit the fan, and then it'll end. That isn't a spoiler, I think we all know things aren't going to go well for Joel and Co.<strong>

**~Exangellion**


End file.
